West Indies beat England by 30 runs

Spinners reigned supreme as West Indies beat England by 30 runs in their T20 World Cup match here on Wednesday.

Spinners Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase took three and two wickets respectively as West Indies bowled England out for 166 in 19 overs, after setting a target of 197.

Sam Curran top-scored for England with 43 not out while Jacob Bethell and Phil Salt chipped in with 33 and 30 respectively.

Earlier, Sherfane Rutherford (76 not out) led the way with a blistering half-century as the West Indies recovered well from an ordinary start to post a formidable 196/6 .

Rutherford smacked seven sixes and two boundaries to make 76 not out off 42 balls, resurrecting a faltering innings for the Caribbean side that had crawled to an ordinary 79 for four halfway through on what remained a true batting wicket.

As many as 117 runs came in the final 10 overs as the left-handed Rutherford put on 51 runs for the fifth wicket with Rovman Powell (14), and added another 61 runs off only 32 balls for the sixth with former skipper Jason Holder (33 off 17 balls; 1x4s, 4x6s).While Rutherford was the top-scorer, the Caribbean side was also well served by Test skipper Roston Chase (34) at No. 4 when they were going through a lull, and towards the end, Holder’s hit three sixes in an over from Sam Curran.

Brief Scores:

West Indies: 196 for 6 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 76 not out, Roston Chase 34, Jason Holder 33; Adil Rashid 2/16, Jamie Overton 2/33).

England: 166 all out in 19 overs (Sam Curran 43 not out, Jacob Bethell 33, Phil Salt 30; Gudakesh Motie 3/33, Roston Chase 2/39).