AFG vs WI: Cornwall, Brooks script records as Windies thrash Afghanistan

The one-off Test between Afghanistan and West Indies in Lucknow was certainly a momentous affair. The overall quality of West Indies was in full display, as they sealed a comfortable victory against an inexperienced Afghanistan unit. For the Windies, spinner Rahkeem Cornwall and middle-order batsman Shamarh Brooks were the stars of the show as they won the contest by 9 wickets on Day 3 itself.

Here we take a look at how the pair created new records in Lucknow:

Cornwall spins a web

The Lucknow Test was well and truly the Rakhkeem Cornwall show. The off-spinner was in lethal form, bamboozling the Afghanistan batters. On Day 1 itself, he picked up 7 wickets to skittle out the Afghans for a score of 187. With his figures of 7/75, he became only the third West Indian spinner to pick up 7 or more wickets in the opening day of a Test match. Alf Valentine (8/105 against England in Manchester in 1950) and Sonny Ramadhin (7/49 against England in Birmingham in 1957) are the only other spinners to achieve this feat.

Cornwall with overall match figures of 10/121 also became the first Caribbean spinner to claim a 10-wicket haul in the sub-continent. Had he claimed one more wicket, it would have become the best-ever match figures by a West Indian tweaker in their history. The big man has certainly made a big impact!

Brooks lends solidity in the middle

Shamarh Brooks was the key performer for the bat for the Windies, scoring 111 in the first innings, batting at No.4. His knock allowed West Indies to put up a score of 277 on the board, giving them a handy advantage. The 31-year old was playing his third match, with the contest in Lucknow being his first away from home. He became only the fourth West Indian batter to score a ton in his maiden away Test knock. The other three were Clyde Walcott, Everton Weekes & Robert Christiani who all scored a ton in the same match in Delhi against India during the 1948/49 series.