England beat West Indies comprehensively in their first T20 World Cup Super Eights clash today (June 19) in Saint Lucia. Watch the full highlights below.
After being asked to bat first, West Indies got off to a blistering start. Opener Brandon King teed off with an enormous six off Reece Topley, but his innings was cut short for a 13-ball 23 after being forced to retire hurt. Nicholas Pooran replaced the batter. The spin flotilla in Adil Rashid (1-21) and Moeen Ali (1-15 off two overs) squeezed the run-flow in the middle overs despite West Indies scoring 54 for no loss in the powerplays. Captain Rovman Powell upped the ante with 36 off 17 but couldn't build on the start as he top-edged to short third man while attempting to thrash Liam Livingstone for the fourth six of the over, which went for 20.
At 137-2 with five overs remaining, West Indies fancied the chance to go big with two dangermen, Pooran and Andre Russell at the crease. However, Jofra Archer bowled a thrilling 16th over to snare Pooran for 36 off 32 before Rashid eliminated Russell for a run. Sherfane Rutherford chipped in with 28 not out 15 balls as West Indies finished at 180-4.
In reply, England were off to a steady start, with Jos Buttler falling for 25 off 22 at the 7.4-over mark. Moeen Ali, at three, played two glorious sweeps, including a reverse off the back of his bat, but perished soon for 13 off 10. While Jonny Bairstow roared back to form with a blazing 48 not out off 26, Salt was second fiddle until 16th over, when he unleashed mayhem. Poor Romario Shepherd was clueless as he kept changing lengths and varied the speed of the deliveries, but all went in vain, with Salt taking 30 in one over.
As a result, Salt raced from 49 to 79 in just six balls, eventually finishing unbeaten on 87 off 47. The blazing knock earned him the Player of the Match award. England gunned down the target with 15 balls and eight wickets left.
Watch highlights of WI vs ENG T20 World Cup 2024 Super Eights match:
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