Afghanistan made a stunning start to their super sixes match of the ICC World Cup qualifiers as they beat West Indies by three wickets on Thursday.

Rahmat Shah starred with the bat as he hit a fine half-century to keep his team in the run-chase.

During his innings, Rahmat hit five boundaries and one six before he was dismissed for 68. Apart from Rahmat, Mujeeb Ur Rahman starred with the ball as he finished the match with figures of three for 33. He was also adjudged as the man of the match.

The West Indies, thanks to their four points carried over into the Super Sixes, will start as favourites but their performances in the group matches have been inconsistent.

The Windies, world champions in 1975 and 1979, slipped to 58 for four before achieving their 201-run target against Papua New Guinea, recovered from 83 for five to 258 for eight against Ireland and then were behind the Netherlands on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method at one stage before the Dutch lost four quick wickets to eventually lose by 54 runs.

Captain Jason Holder insisted the important thing for his side was to progress to the Super Six with a maximum four points.

‘I think this is one box ticked—we have not only qualified but qualified going into the Super Six with four points.

‘We’ve got Afghanistan first in the Super Sixes, and we know we have to win that game. I think everybody will be up for it, it’s obviously a must-win game, a very important game.’