New Delhi:
West Indies are the two-time World T20 champions. They have provided flair and aggression to the format and most of their players play in marquee Twenty20 leagues all over the world. Against England, they have registered more than 10 wins in this format. After losing the first match at St.Lucia by four wickets, it looked like it was a mere aberration. However, the result of the second Twenty20 International would have shocked most Twenty20 fans all over the world. In response to England’s total of 182/6, West Indies were humiliated for 45 as they lost the match by a massive margin of 137 runs to trail 0-2 in the three-match series.
The score of 45 is the second-lowest in the history of the Twenty20 format. The lowest is 39 by the Netherlands against Sri Lanka in the 2014 World T20 encounter in Chittagong. Before this, West Indies’ lowest score was 60 against Pakistan in Karachi in April 2018. Sam Billings was the top scorer for England with 87 and thus West Indies actually lost to Billings’ bat alone by 42 runs.
The loss by 137 runs represents the highest in terms of runs for West Indies in this format. Their previous worst was by 119 runs against New Zealand in Mount Maunganui when they were chasing 243. This was the second Twenty20 International series loss for West Indies against England, having lost a one-off match in 2012 in Trent Bridge.
West Indies chose to bowl and they reduced England to 27/3 but Joe Root shared a crucial 87-run stand for the fourth wicket with Billings. Root notched up his fifth fifty but was run-out as England looked to maintain the momentum. Billings tore the West Indies bowling to shreds in the final four overs. In the 17th over bowled by Sheldon Cottrell, England managed to smash 18 runs while the 18th over bowled by Jason Holder yielded just six runs. There was carnage in the 19th over delivered by Carlos Brathwaite as he leaked 22 runs and Obed McCoy was not spared in the final over, giving away 22 runs. England had smashed 68 runs in four overs and they had the momentum.
West Indies were left absolutely shell-shocked and their woes mounted when Chris Jordan took four wickets for six runs in two overs. David Willey, Adil Rashid and Liam Plunkett took two wickets each as only two West Indies batsmen reached double figures. West Indies batted for just 11.5 overs and this massive loss will dent their confidence in a series where they have done incredibly well.
