Wed Feb 11 ’26 by KRISSANIA YOUNG
West Indies 196 for 6 (Rutherford 76*, Chase 34; Rashid 2-16) beating England 166 all out (Curran 43*, Bethell 33; Motion 3-33) with 30 runs
A half-century from Sherfane Rutherford and a surprisingly electric display of spin bowling earned the West Indies a 30-run win over England in their ICC T20 World Cup Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
They ran into early trouble after being sent to bat when captain Shai Hope lunged at a short, wide strike from fellow Barbados Jofra Archer and got cover for a 3-ball duck. Brandon King (1) then fell two balls later, taken in the deep off Sam Curran, leaving West Indies 8 for 2 in the 2nd over.
Roston Chase and the in-form Shimron Hetmyer countered with a 47-run third-wicket partnership. Chase, who was brought in to replace Matthew Forde, got to work with three successive fours from Will Jacks’ off-spin in the 4th before Hetmyer finished the over with a maximum.
Hetmyer’s 12-ball 23 ended when it was canceled out by Jamie Overton’s extra bounce, which gave England the upper hand at the end of the powerplay, with the West Indies 55 for 3.
With Chase (34) falling lbw to an Adil Rashid (2/16) in the 10th, Sherfane Rutherford opted for a measured start and scored 10 from his first 13 deliveries. His first attacking shots were back-to-back sixes off Jacks in the 12th.
Rutherford and Rovman Powell got the innings back on track, scoring 51 off 29 balls for the 5th wicket. The pair combined for 17 runs from Archer’s 13th before Powell (14) was caught taking on Rashid in the 15th with the West Indies 128 for 5.
Jason Holder came on to lay in Curran, hitting three maximums in the 17th on his way to a 17-ball 33. Holder and Rutherford again brought momentum to the innings, hitting 61 of their 32 balls against each other at the crease.
When the former fell in the 19th over, it left unbeaten Rutherford (76 off 42) to put the finishing touches to the innings and get the West Indies to 196 for 6 from their 20 overs.
The great start to England’s chase came courtesy of Phil Salt, who caught Holder for three fours and two sixes in the second over. He was sent back by Romario Shepherd for a 14-ball 30 in the 4th. Salt’s was the only wicket England lost in the powerplay and continued with Jacob Bethell joining Jos Buttler to end that phase with 67 runs on the board.
The pair scored 36 from 20 balls before Chase ensured Buttler (21) left England on 74 for 2 in the 7th. Gudakesh Motie (3/33) then took charge of proceedings, removing Tom Banton (2) in the next round before ripping through Jacob Bethell (33) with his variation of leg spin. Then England were restricted to 90 for 4 in the 10th.
The Three Lions managed just 14 runs between overs nine and 11, but the danger for the West Indies remained with skipper Harry Brook on the fringes. Luckily for the Caribbean side, a few pinches of Motion magic remained as well. And the Guyanese had Brook caught and bowled for 17 to leave England 131 for 5 when they needed 66 off the last 36 balls.
Chase (2/91) and Akeal Hosein followed with the wickets of Jacks (2) and Overton (5) in the 15th and 16th overs, with England needing to score 14 runs per over in the last 4. Wickets continued to tumble until they were eventually dismissed for 166 in 19 overs, sending the West Indies to the top of Group C with two wins from two matches.
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