MATCH REPORT
Follow UsRecalled to the side after being left out of the first two T20Is of the series, Rovman Powell played the innings of his life as a maiden T20I ton from his willow set-up a 20-run victory for West Indies over England in Barbados on Wednesday (January 26).
Walking in at No.4 after being put into bat, Powell began his innings with a six on just the second ball he faced, off the bowling of Liam Livingstone. That particular moment ended up foreshadowing his entire innings as the 28-year-old struck an astounding 10 maximums to bring up a stunning ton off just 51 balls, becoming the third West Indian after Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis to hit a T20I century.
Powell, throughout his innings, targeted spinners, and he forged a 122-run stand with Nicholas Pooran that helped the hosts post a mammoth 224 on the board. Pooran, after the early wicket of Brandon King, counter-attacked and got off to a flyer, scoring 32 off his first 17 balls. However, the southpaw took a step back once Powell entered, opting to play second fiddle, and together the duo punished the English bowlers to post a giant total on the board.
Adil Rashid (1/25) was the pick of the bowlers for England, but the two Windies batters went after debutant George Garton, who finished with figures of 1/57. Garton’s debut began well, with him dismissing Brandon King in his very first over, but it turned into a nightmare in no time as both Pooran and Powell latched onto his bowling.
Chasing 225 was always going to be a next-to-impossible task, and England needed Jason Roy to be at his best to get the team off to a brisk start. But much to their dismay, the opener was out of sorts as, despite hitting a pair of sixes, he could only score 19 off 16 balls before holing out to Jason Holder in the deep.
James Vince (16), Moeen Ali (0) and Liam Livingstone (11) all flopped, and for 12 overs, it was young Tom Banton who was doing the heavy-lifting single-handedly. Banton showed promising signs in the second T20I but exploded today in Barbados, timing the ball to perfection to post the second T20I fifty of his career. But after looking good for a ton, Banton fell for 73 aiming to slog Pollard through the on-side, with the Required Run Rate getting out of hand.
The match, post Banton’s dismissal, looked dead and buried on paper but life was brought back into it by debutant Phil Salt. Generally someone who opens the batting, Salt, batting at No.6, played a swashbuckling knock as he hit 5 sixes en route scoring a 22-ball fifty. But even such a cameo wasn’t able to take England over the line as they fell short by 20 runs. Salt might have taken England over the line had he got support from fellow debutant Harry Brook, but the 22-year-old struggled big time, scoring just 10 off the 13 balls he faced.
For West Indies, Romario Shepherd (3/59) was expensive but he took key wickets, while Sheldon Cottrell, Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein all did commendable jobs. The pick of the bowlers, though, was skipper Kieron Pollard, who finished with figures of 2/31 off his 4, taking the crucial wickets of Banton and Ali.
With the win, the Pollard-led side have taken a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. The fourth T20I will also be played in Barbados in three days’ time.