T20 World Cup 2021, England vs Windies (Super 12): Defending champion annihilated by England and Adil Rashid

England and Windies clashed in their opening encounter of the ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Super 12 stage. Meanwhile, the defending champion was obliterated by the runner-up from the last edition.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021, England vs Windies, West Indies (Group 1, Super 12): Report, result, winner, Adil Rashid-ayh

Ayush Gupta

Dubai - United Arab Emirates, First Published Oct 23, 2021, 10:08 PM IST

It was sweet revenge by the runner-up of the 2016 ICC T20 World Cup. England exterminated defending champion Windies by six wickets in their opening game of Group 1 in the Super 12s of the 2021 T20WC at the Dubai International Stadium on Saturday. Following this win, England has risen to the top of its group table with an enormous net run rate.

Winning the toss, English skipper Eoin Morgan opted to bowl, as Windies was off to a horrible start, losing Lendl Simmons (3), Evin Lewis (6), Chris Gayle (13) and Shimron Hetmyer (9) by the sixth over of the Powerplay, with just 31 runs on the board. The English bowlers became even deadly after the PP, while the Windies batters majorly self-destructed the innings.

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Failure to read the ball properly and playing mistimed shots were why Windies collapsed like a pile of cards. The remaining six batters were dismissed in single figures, as Windies could only manage 55 within ten overs. With Gayle being the only one to enter double figures, it was the third-lowest total of the tournament to date, with this being the lowest by a defending champion.

England put five bowlers into the attack, with spinner Adil Rashid claiming four for just two runs, the best bowling figure by an Englishman in the competition and the second-best overall. Naturally, he also produced the third-best economy of the tournament (0.90), while England had an easy task at hand.

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However, England's chase did not turn out to be relaxed either, as it lost Jason Roy (11), Jonny Bairstow (9) and Moeen Ali (3) within the sixth over of the PP, with 36 runs on the board. While spinner Akeal Hosein dismissed Liam Livingstone (1) three runs later in the seventh, it was opener Jos Buttler (24*) and Morgan (7*) who managed to see out the chase within the ninth over.

However, the chase indicated that the pitch was not easy to bat upon. The Windies utilised four bowlers, with Hosein claiming a couple, while he and pacer Obed McCoy were the most economical ones from their side.
Brief scores: Windies 55 in ten overs (Gayle- 13; Rashid- 4/2) lost to England 56/4 in 8.2 overs (Buttler-24; Hosein- 2/24) by six wickets.

Last Updated Oct 23, 2021, 10:08 PM IST