England were outplayed by West Indies.
England‘s T20 World Cup campaign suffered a significant setback as they suffered a 30-run defeat to West Indies in Mumbai.
The two-time champions, who famously lost to the Windies in a dramatic final in 2016, narrowly avoided a humiliating defeat in their opener against associate nation Nepal.
However, there was to be no escape at the Wankhede Stadium as the Windies cruised to a 30-run win.
It was a game that saw England outplayed in all facets, with Sherfane Rutherford the talisman as the Windies recovered from a dreadful start with the bat to make it two wins from two.
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Sherfane stars again for West Indies
The Windies were reduced to 8-2 in seven balls as captain Shai Hope was removed by Jofra Acher and Brandon King fell to Sam Curran for a duck two balls later.
Yet England failed to press home their advantage, Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Roston Chase (34) starting the recovery, the latter hitting six fours in 29 balls.
But it was Rutherford who proved the difference-maker. He hit a valuable 26 off 13 in the win over Scotland to begin the campaign, but took things to another level against England, bludgeoning their attack as he hit seven sixes and a pair of fours in a blistering unbeaten 76 that came off 42 balls.
Rutherford combined for partnerships of 51 with Rovman Powell and 61 with Jason Holder, the latter hitting four sixes in his 17-ball 33, as the Windies finished on an imposing 196-6, their score rendering Adil Rashid taking his 400th T20I wicket a mere footnote in a disappointing England bowling effort.
England appeared as if they would respond in kind with Jos Buttler (21) and Jacob Bethell (33) looking set at the crease after Phil Salt went for 30.
However, Buttler, Tom Banton (2) and Bethell departed in the space of three overs, the latter pair holing out from the bowling of the impressive Gudakesh Motie (3-33) before captain Harry Brook fell for 17 to the same man with a tame caught and bowled dismissal.
That left Sam Curran, whose death bowling rescued England against Nepal, with another salvage mission. Yet he had precious little support from the lower order and was left stranded on 43 when Rashid picked out Chase, whose stunning catch at deep square leg summed up the difference between the two sides.
Why Brook’s admission sums up sorry England
While the Windies look destined to finish top of Group C, England captain Brook conceded they would be in a very difficult spot had they not clung on against Nepal.
He said in the post-match presentation: “We probably thought it [197] was chaseable for sure. It probably didn’t dew up as much as we were expecting, it probably didn’t skid onto the bat as much as we were expecting.
“Thank god we won against Nepal the other night otherwise we’d be in a tricky situation.”
A team with England’s level of talent should not be in such a situation in a group they would have been expected to sail through.
England will almost certainly still progress to the Super 8s, but no team will be fearing them after their latest underwhelming effort.
Brook’s men are next in action against Scotland in Kolkata on Valentine’s Day, while West Indies can look forward to what should be routine victories over Nepal and Italy. They face Nepal on Sunday.
England’s last meeting with Scotland at the T20 World Cup in 2024 ended in no result due to rain. Heartbreak for them against their neighbours in Saturday’s meeting would put them on course for an embarrassing early exit.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: 101greatgoals.com
