West Indies wins by 4 wickets

2023.12.13

Andre Russell’s 3/19 and an unbeaten 14-ball 29, in his first T20I in two years, proved pivotal in the host’s win.

England’s white ball woes continued as it lost by four wickets to the West Indies on Tuesday in the first T20I at the Kensington Oval.

The visitor made an explosive start after being sent in, reaching 77-0 at the end of the Power Play and 112-2 after 10 overs. But England collapsed and was all out for 171 in the 20th over as Andre Russell, in his first T20I in two years, took 3-19 to lead a West Indies resurgence.

During the run chase, West Indies also faced challenging circumstances, including many setbacks and a brief rain break that caused them to fall from 101-4 in the 12th over to 123-6 in the 15th.

With 11 balls remaining, the West Indies completed their goal because to some powerful hitting from skipper Rovman Powell, who helped swing the match back in the home team’s favor.

Russell was not out after 29 balls, and Powell was undefeated after 31 balls from 15 balls. In order to lead Kensington Oval in the most successful T20 run chase ever, both batsmen smacked sixes out of the stadium. Russell, 35, was named Player of the Match.

“Life is hilarious,” he remarked. “I’ve been dreaming of being Man of the Match since I was picked for the West Indies team.”

Andre Russell bats during the 1st T20 International between West Indies and England

Earlier, England appeared to be off to a winning start thanks to Phil Salt and skipper Jos Buttler, who was back at the top of the order after batting in the middle order during the One-Day international series loss.

In the opening over, Salt hit 13 runs, three of which were boundaries, and England raced to 50 in 4.5 overs. The scoring pace increased when Alzarri Joseph’s sixth over, which featured ten extras, yielded 26 runs.

In the seventh over, Russell ended the opening partnership of 77 runs when Shimron Hetmeyer brilliantly caught Salt at deep mid-wicket. The fielder stepped beyond the boundary and back into play to clinch the catch.

Russell’s breakthrough came when he realized that the slower ball was the best delivery option available.

Russell stated, “I bowled a slower ball in my last delivery of my first over and realized it gripped.” I advised the majority of seamen to use bowl cutters after that, making things challenging for them. Delivering at a fast pace is where they get most of their runs.

Joseph also benefited from the finding; he calmed and finished with 3-54 after giving up 17 runs, including seven wides, in his second over.

England lost badly, going from 117-2 to 129-5 in only 14 balls. A brief comeback was staged by Liam Livingston (27), who was removed by Russell after hitting 13 balls out of 14 by Sam Curran. At 165-6, England’s final four wickets went for six runs.

After the opening over, Brandon King of the West Indies struck two sixes and a four for 16 runs, continuing their impressive start. It was also down when King was out for 22 off 12 deliveries, but it still managed to reach 50 from 4.5 overs.

Before being removed at the beginning of the eighth over, Kyle Myers scored 31 off of 21 balls, bringing the total to 78. The West Indies were well on their way to surpassing England’s total, reaching their century in 10.1 overs.

However, in his 100th match, Adil Rashid became the first England bowler to take 100 wickets in T20Is when he took out Hetmeyer, after Rehan Ahmed (3/39) had already removed Nicholas Pooran (13) with his second ball.

When rain started to fall in the 13th over, West Indies was 108-4 and the players had to leave the field for more than half an hour. Players returned without losing any overs, however the pitch was inconsistent and the ball was softer for the West Indies hitters.

Final Score

England171 in 19.3 overs (Phil Salt 40, Jos Buttler 39; Andre Russell 3/19) lost to West Indies172/6 in 18.1 overs (Shai Hope 36, Kyle Mayers 35; Rehan Ahmed 3/39) by 4 wickets

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