Wed, Feb 11, ’26
by KRISSANIA YOUNG
West Indies 196 for 6 (Rutherford 76*, Chase 34; Rashid 2-16) beat England 166 all out (Curran 43*, Bethell 33; Motie 3-33) by 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 clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.
They found themselves in early trouble after being sent to bat when Captain Shai Hope lashed at a short, wide one from fellow Barbadian Jofra Archer and was caught at 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 into the side as a replacement for Matthew Forde, got going with three consecutive fours off the off-spin of Will Jacks in the 4th before Hetmyer finished the over with a maximum.
Hetmyer’s 12-ball 23 ended when he was undone by the extra bounce of Jamie Overton, which gave England the upper hand at the end of the powerplay, with the West Indies 55 for 3.
While Chase (34) fell lbw to an Adil Rashid (2/16) googly in the 10th, Sherfane Rutherford opted for a measured start, scoring 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, putting on 51 from 29 balls for the 5th wicket. The pair teamed up for 17 runs from Archer’s 13th before Powell (14) was caught trying to take on Rashid in the 15th with the West Indies 128 for 5.
Jason Holder came and laid into Curran, smashing three maximums in the 17th on his way to a 17-ball 33. Holder and Rutherford reinjected momentum into the innings, smashing 61 from their 32 balls together at the crease.
When the former fell in the 19th, it left the unbeaten Rutherford (76 from 42) to put the finishing touches on the innings and get the West Indies up to 196 for 6 from their 20 overs.
England’s cracking start to the chase came courtesy of Phil Salt, who took Holder for 3 fours and 2 sixes in the 2nd 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, motoring on with Jacob Bethell, who joined Jos Buttler to end that phase with 67 runs on the board.
The pair put on 36 from 20 balls before Chase accounted for Buttler (21) to leave England 74 for 2 in the 7th. Gudakesh Motie (3/33) then took charge of proceedings, removing Tom Banton (2) in the following over before ripping through Jacob Bethell (33) with his variation of leg spin. At that, England were restricted to 90 for 4 in the 10th.
The Three Lions managed only 14 runs between overs nine and eleven, but the danger for the West Indies remained with skipper Harry Brook at the crease. Fortunately for the Caribbean side, a few sprinkles of the Motie magic also remained. And the Guyanese had Brook caught and bowled for 17 to leave England 131 for 5, needing 66 from the final 36 balls.
Chase (2/91) and Akeal Hosein followed up 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 final 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 games.