UAE vs WI, 1st ODI: West Indies Cruise to Comfortable 7-wicket Win Over United Arab Emirates

Brandon King smashed a run-a-ball 112 as the West Indies gave themselves a confidence boost ahead of the World Cup qualifier by thrashing the United Arab Emirates in the first one-day international on Sunday.

The tourists bowled out the UAE for 202 and then chased down the target with 14.4 overs to spare to secure a seven-wicket win.

The West Indies are preparing for the World Cup qualifying event in Zimbabwe which starts on June 18 and also features the UAE.

The two-time world champions have never failed to reach the global showpiece, but only two of the 10 teams in the qualifier will reach the World Cup in India later this year.

“They (bowlers) all bowled really well, stuck to their plans and really happy. I saw Dominic grow from childhood and nice to see him playing for the West Indies colors now. Don’t think there are any demons on this surface and credit to the bowlers for restricting them to a low score," West Indies captain Shai Hope said after the match.

“He (King) is an exceptional player, happy that he is kicking on now and really happy for him. He played a wonderful innings and happy to see him get his first hundred today (Sunday)," Hope added.

Seamer Keemo Paul was the pick of the Windies bowlers with 3-34 as the hosts failed to bat out their overs despite a counter-attacking 58 from Ali Naseer.

Opener King made short work of the total, easing to his maiden ODI ton and hitting 12 fours and four sixes.

Hope finished the job in style with back-to-back sixes.

“Guys bowled really well, but we didn’t get enough runs on the board. Aayan bowled really well, we were looking for wickets but King played really well. We will take the positives from this game and do better in the next game,"

UAE skipper Muhammad Waseem said.

The second ODI takes place on Tuesday in Dubai, where the third and final match will also be held on Friday.

(With inputs from Agencies)