WI spinners decimate England batting, seal comprehensive 30-run victory

West Indies seal a 30-run victory to put themselves in pole position in Group C, leaving England with plenty of thinking to do over the course of the campaign.

It was the spin of Gudakesh Motie (3/33), Roston Chase (2/29), and Akeal Hosein (1/30) which did the trick to trigger a big collapse. Earlier, Sherfane Rutherford hammered 74*(42) with the bat to set things up – and now look like one of the teams to beat in this tournament.

West Indies recover from a tricky start to finish on 196/6, putting all the pressure onto England’s chase. Sherfane Rutherford with a fine batting performance to act as backbone after coming in among a flurry of early wickets. Rutherford consolidated and then accelerated, hitting 7 sixes enroute to his 76* off 42. Jason Holder played a powerful cameo, while Adil Rashid’s spell of 2/16 headlines the English effort.

Jofra Archer strikes in the very first over of the match! He dismissed Windies captain Shai Hope, who punches it straight to hand on the off-side. In the next over, Sam Curran takes a wicket with his first ball, dismissing Brandon King. Earlier, England captain Harry Brook won the toss and sent WI in to bat first.

When it comes to playing firecracker matches, England and West Indies know a thing or two about putting on a show. This year’s T20 World Cup came alive earlier today as a humdinger between South Africa and Afghanistan went to a sensational super over – and cricket fans could be in for a treat in the evening match as the Wankhede Stadium hosts two of the most destructive teams in the tournament.

England are a team in search of rhythm and some sort of identity. There is plenty of quality through the team – names like Jos Buttler, Harry Brook, and Jofra Archer – but they have struggled to string things together. A narrow 4-run victory against Nepal will have sent a jolt through the England camp, who look to be slightly short on confidence.

In that kind of position, the West Indies are not a fun team to run into. Packed with power with players like Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, and Romario Shepherd.

Add a couple of quality off-spinners in Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie, this Windies team has the chance to roll back the years and establish itself as T20 top dogs for the first time in many many years – almost since that iconic 2016 victory at the Eden Gardens. (Hindustan Times)