West Indies 206 for 3 (King 112, Brooks 44) beat United Arab Emirates 202 (Naseer 52, Paul 3-34) by seven wickets

Kicking off a new era for the West Indies under new captain Shai Hope and new head coach Daren Sammy, the visitors looked to chase down without issue in Test conditions, on a pitch that offered spin and uneven rebounding. The victory provides a boost for the West Indies as they prepare for the ODI World Cup Qualifier later this month in Zimbabwe.

King’s first ODI hundred came off 107 deliveries and he also sewed up a crucial position defining 91-run match for the second wicket with Shamarh Brooks to crush the UAE. Innings highlights from him included his three earned sixes against Karthik Meiyyappan in the 34th of the inning. Overall, he hit 12 fours and four sixes.

West Indies started the chase on a spirited note at five runs up and kept up the run rate throughout their innings. Although not a difficult target on paper, the West Indies had to play on a difficult pitch in wet conditions. After losing early to Johnson Charles for 24, Brooks played second fiddle with 44 of 58 deliveries from him. Left-arm spinner Aayan Khan was able to hold off the West Indies for some time, but it wasn’t enough to stop King. With Keacy Carty, he had 54 runs with 47 of those runs coming off his bat.

Hope hit two straight sixes off Meyappan in the 36th to seal the deal for his team.

Newcomer Ali Naseer’s fifties take UAE to 202

Winning the toss and opting to bat, UAE lost both openers within the first three overs. Paul struck on his second ball when he bowled home captain Muhammad Waseem for a duck. Left-arm pace bowler Dominic Drakes, who made his West Indies debut alongside all-rounder Kavem Hodge on Sunday, then took his first ODI wicket by breaking through Aryansh Sharma’s defense in his second over.

From 100 for 2, the UAE suffered a four wicket collapse for 29 runs. This included the wicket of Rameez, who returned to bat after retiring injured. Cariah was difficult to score in the middle overs and conceded just 26 runs in seven overs from him. However, UAE rallied in the finals of the innings, courtesy of Naseer.

Coming in at No. 7, the left-hand hitter provided the late push needed to cross the 200 mark. Naseer, 19, showed determination with little support from the other end and went after Hodge, the left-arm spinner, hammering two sixes in the 41st, one over midwicket and another, a slog swept over wide-long-on on his half-century route. Smith, Drakes and Hodge then kept it quiet for a few overs before Naseer holed out from long range – Paul’s slow cut from just outside the stump did the trick. His hit 58 of 52 balls consisted of five fours and two sixes.

For the West Indies, Drakes, Smith and Cariah finished with two each and Roston Chase took one.