BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – Off-spinner Roston Chase snatched a career-best haul and Shai Hope belted a stunning career-best half-century, as West Indies ruthlessly pounded minnows United States by nine wickets to claw their way back into contention for the semi-finals of the ICC Twenty20 World Cup here Friday night.
Facing a must-win scenario following an eight-wicket defeat to England in their opening game of the Super Eights, West Indies dismantled the United States for 128 with one ball left in their innings, with Chase picking up three for 19 from his four overs.

Medium fast Andre Russell chipped in with three for 31 while speedster Alzarri Joseph recovered from a shaky start to claim two for 31 as the co-hosts slumped from 51 for one in the seventh over, losing their last nine wickets for 77 runs.
Opener Andries Gous, with a 16-ball 29 and Nitish Kumar (20) threatened briefly but once they perished in successive overs, no other batsman passed 20.
Hope, in only his second game of the tournament, then dominated the run chase with a scintillating unbeaten 82 off 39 balls, a knock which propelled West Indies to their target in the 11th over.

In a phenomenal display of power-hitting, the right-hander clobbered four fours and eight sixes – mostly straight hits – while left-hander Nicholas Pooran joined in with a 12-ball unbeaten 27.
West Indies’ win not only earned them a much needed two points but its comprehensive nature boosted their net run rate to a group high 1.81, ahead of Sunday’s all-important clash with Group 2 leaders South Africa.
“Kensington brings special memories for us – it’s the Mecca of cricket in the Caribbean,” said captain Rovman Powell.
“And to see we had a packed house, [it was] no better opportunity than [this] for the guys to come out and play some good cricket.”

Choosing to bowl first, West Indies struck in the second over when Russell got left-hander Steven Taylor (2) to squirt a low catch to Chase at backward point with three runs on the board.
United States counter-attacked brilliantly, however, Gous blasting three fours and a six and Kumar, a brace of fours, the pair posting 48 off 31 balls for the second wicket.

An ill-advised reverse sweep brought Kumar’s downfall in the seventh over from left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and once Gous holed out to Hope at deep mid-wicket off Joseph, the USA lost their way as Man-of-the-Match Chase crippled the middle order.

“It was a tough night for the boys,” said USA captain Aaron Jones, who was raised in Barbados and played first class cricket for the country.
“To be honest, against West Indies, we probably had to score maybe around 175, 180. Obviously we didn’t get that score. We were under par.”

Hope quickly erased any doubt over the result, dominating a 67-run opening stand with Johnson Charles (15) before combining in a punishing unbroken second wicket stand of 63 with Pooran who lashed a four and three towering sixes.

The 30-year-old Hope reached his third T20I fifty off just 26 balls when he cleared the ropes at long off with left-arm spinner Harmeet Singh in the seventh over, which ended with Charles holing out in the deep.
Nevertheless, West Indies kept up their unrelenting assault, Hope belting three consecutive sixes in off-spinner Milind Kumar’s only over – the ninth of the innings – which leaked 22 runs, before combining with Pooran to exact 20 from the 11th from left-arm seamer Saurabh Netravalkar and end the game emphatically.