West Indies beat England by 4 wickets in first T20 at Kensington Oval

Following the conclusion of the ODI series, the hosts West Indies kicked off the T20I series with a 4-wicket victory against England in Barbados. Windies’ returnees Andre Russell and Rovman Powell grabbed the show with quick-fire hits to finish the 172-run chase in 18.1 overs.

West Indies was led by veteran all-rounder Andre Russell’s who announced a stunning comeback to international cricket. Russell, who was given a surprise comeback after a two-year absence, sparkled with bat and ball at the Kensington Oval as the home side easily surpassed the winning mark, finishing on 172-6 after 18.1 overs.

The West Indies also got off to a fast start, with Brandon King smashing two sixes and a four in the opening over for 16 runs. It also reached 50 in 4.5 overs, but one short when King was dismissed for 22 off 12 deliveries. Kyle Myers hit 31 off 21 balls to take the score to 78 before being caught at the start of the eighth over. The West Indies reached 100 in 10.1 overs, keeping them on course to exceed England’s total. However, with his second ball, Rehan Ahmed (3/39) removed Nicholas Pooran (13) and Adil Rashid grabbed the wicket of Hetmeyer to become the first England bowler to capture 100 wickets in T20Is in his 100th match.

Russell, who was undefeated on 31 at the time, then delivered a quick-fire 29 not out to take West Indies home after a mid-innings wobble threatened to bring England back into the game. Russell’s 14-ball innings comprised two fours and two sixes, including a massive six out of the ground over mid-wicket off Adil Rashid. Throughout the innings, the West Indies hammered 14 sixes, including two massive swipes from opener Kyle Mayers early on that also soared clear of the ground.

Earlier, Phil Salt and skipper Jos Buttler, who had batted in the middle order in the One-Day International series defeat, had given England what appeared to be a winning start.

From the opening over, Salt scored 13 runs, including three boundaries, as England raced to 50 in 4.5 overs. The scoring rate increased even further when Alzarri Joseph bowled the sixth over, which had 10 extras, for 26 runs. Russell ended the 77-run opening partnership in the seventh over when Salt was magnificently caught at deep mid-wicket by Shimron Hetmeyer, who stepped over the boundary and returned into play to make the catch.

In the span of 14 balls, England went from 117-2 to 129-5. Liam Livingston (27) and Sam Curran (13 from 14 balls) staged a brief comeback before Russell took Livingstone’s important wicket. England was 165-6 with four wickets down for six runs.

England captain Jos Buttler lamented his team’s inability to capitalise on a bright start to their innings, which included a 77-run opening partnership. “From the position we were in, we were looking for a score of 200,” explained Buttler, who scored 39. “We want to keep pushing the boundaries and trying to be as positive as we can. But it’s about finding ways to keep scoring in that manner, getting those extra 20, 25 runs in an unfashionable way,” he added.

West Indies 172 for 6 (Hope 36, Mayers 35, Rehan 3-39, Rashid 2-25) beat England 171 (Salt 40, Buttler 39, Russell 3-19) by four wickets