BRIDGETOWN, Barbados: Shay Hope's brilliant no-run 82 off 39 balls helped the West Indies thump the United States on Friday to win the T20 World Cup Super Eights match by nine wickets with 9.1 overs to spare.
The Caribbean side bowled out the United States for 128 in the tournament's co-hosts' clash at Kensington Oval before home-batter Hope smashed eight sixes to help the West Indies reach the target in 10.5 overs and finish at 130 for 1.
The win keeps the West Indies in the running to qualify for the semi-finals, while the USA are in danger of being eliminated after losing both of their previous Super Eight matches.
Spinner Roston Chase provided the main blow for West Indies with scores of 3-19 in four overs, while Andre Russell also took three wickets.
However, aware that a high scoring rate was necessary in the qualifiers, Hope was aggressive from the start, reaching fifty in just 26 balls.
Nortje and de Kock star as South Africa beat England in T20 World Cup
After losing to England in their opening Super Eight match, the West Indies now have their destiny in their hands, with a win against South Africa in their final Group 1 match on Sunday guaranteeing a place in the last four.
The West Indies have a higher net run rate than South Africa and so a win over the Proteas will see them through to the final, regardless of the outcome of the final matches between England and the USA.
Hope's aggressive strokeplay saw the home team post a 58-0 powerplay score in six overs, with the opener, who was not in the team for the opening group stage matches, scoring 42 of those runs.
Hope was relentless in his batting, hitting 12 boundaries before Nicholas Pooran rounded off the visitors' lead with 27 runs from 12 balls, including three sixes, to seal the win.
Hope's final six came when he smashed a Saurabh Netravalkar ball over long-off to delight the home crowd and seal the victory.
The Americans bowled terrifically, with Mirando Kumar hitting three sixes and scoring 22 in just one over.
The Barbados-born Chase, who recorded the best performance of his career in a T20I match, was happy with his strong performance.
“It feels great to win at home with our parents and friends watching. We had discussed in the team meeting that if we don't get many wickets in the powerplay, our spinners need to come back and bring the game back and that's what we did today,” he said.
“It is our destiny and our goal to win the World Cup so we have to beat our opponents from here on out to win it,” he said.
South Africa top the group with a maximum of four points from their opening two matches, while England are level on two points with the West Indies but have a worse win rate than the Caribbean side.
