The West Indies stuttered and stumbled before eventually scrambling a five-wicket win over minnows Papua New Guinea in the opening Group C encounter of the Twenty20 World Cup in Guyana Sunday.
Set a modest target of 137, the two-time former champions were undone by clever, disciplined PNG bowling, slumping to 97 for five with only four overs left before all-rounder Roston Chase's unbeaten 42 off 27 balls helped the co-hosts over the line with an over to spare.
Earlier, the West Indies' bowlers proved too much for the comparative novices of Papua New Guinea as the two-time former champions restricted them to 136 for eight.
Sese Bau's belligerent 50 off 43 balls, with six fours and one six, represented the only meaningful contribution from PNG after they were put in to bat on a bright, humid morning.
Wicket-keeper Kiplin Doriga (27 not out) and captain Assad Vala (21) were the only other players to get past 20 with fast bowlers Alzarri Joseph and Andre Russell spearheading a disciplined West Indies effort with two wickets each.
The West Indies captain Rovman Powell opted with a spin-pace combination throughout the innings to good effect.
Despite a green-tinged pitch the two-time former champions opted for three spinners - Chase, Akeil Hosein and Gudakesh Motie - in their final 11 at the start of a campaign in which they are seeking to become the first hosts to lift the T20 World Cup.
The slow bowling trio of Akeal, Motie and Chase contributed with wickets and economy to limit a struggling Papua batting line-up.
PNG stunned Zimbabwe on an unbeaten run to qualify for their second T20 World Cup appearance.
Chastened by desperately poor showings at the last two T20 World Cups, the champions from 2012 and 2016 are keen to pick up early points against PNG and Uganda before the tougher Group C challenges in the shape of New Zealand and Afghanistan.
The West Indies' only previous meeting in an official international fixture against Papua New Guinea was at the 2018 qualifying tournament in Zimbabwe for the 2019 50-over-side World Cup.
Jason Holder's unbeaten 99 guided the Caribbean team to a six-wicket win in Harare.
2ND MATCH
Papua New Guinea 136/8 (Bau 50, Russell 2/19) lost to West Indies 137/5 in 19 overs (Chase 42*, King 34) by 5 wickets