NEWS
Follow UsPapua New Guinea captain Assad Vala admitted that the result against West Indies ‘could have been different’ had his side batted better, but asserted that he was incredibly proud of the effort put in by his team, who nearly pulled off a stunning upset.
At 136/8 at the halfway point, it looked like PNG had fallen well short of par, but the 20th-ranked side in the world still made a match out of it, pushing the hosts to the absolute limit. From 97/5 in 16 overs, the Windies had to dig really deep to get over the line.
In the end, the hosts’ experience showed as Roston Chase (42* off 27) and Andre Russell (15* off 9) got the two-time champions home with an over to spare.
“Yeah, really happy with the effort from the boys posted not the target we wanted but they fought till the end so really happy with the effort of the boys,” Vala said in the press conference after the game.
“I think batting as well, I think we didn't play the crucial moments the way we wanted. They had batsmen towards the end, which we didn't. I think we missed out on a few runs towards the end as well. But I think credit to them. They got a lot of experience.
“So, I think we played really well. We executed our skills really well. Just couldn't execute towards the end when we were put under pressure but really happy with the overall performance of the boys.”
The PNG skipper conceded that his side could have won the match with better batting, but stated that they will learn a lot from this missed opportunity.
“Yeah, I thought so but I think that it is what it is. Something we can learn from and move forward. I think we came up against a really good side and I'm happy that we put in a really good show today,” Vala said.
Vala was full of praise for all the individuals who stepped up on the day. He lavished praise on middle-order batter Sese Bau (50), left-arm spinner John Kariko (1/17) and new-ball pacer Alei Nao (1/9), all of whom played a crucial part in PNG taking the fight to the Windies.
“I think Sese Bau batted really well. The number four batsman he scored a 50 today. Yeah, and John Kariko, the left-arm spinner bowled really well. I think, Alei up front with the new ball. There was a lot of stuff that we did really well. I think a lot of positives to take out from the game today.
“I think the overall performance was really good but just the key moments that we just couldn't put the nail in the coffin. But I think as I said before the effort was outstanding, we kept fighting against a really good side so happy really happy.”
PNG next take on Uganda at the Providence stadium in Guyana on June 5 (Wednesday).
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