After scoring a duck in the previous match, England’s captain, Jos Buttler, bounced back with a destructive innings, leading England to a dominant win over the West Indies.
It was as if the bat was simply exchanged between Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. Salt, who had scored a century the previous day, was dismissed for a golden duck, while Buttler, who was out on the first ball in the previous match, couldn’t manage a century this time, but still played a blistering innings. The match followed a similar pattern, with England chasing down the target in another 8-wicket victory.
With this win, England took a 2-0 lead in the five-match T20 series, defeating the West Indies by the same margin again.
Much of Sunday’s game in Barbados mirrored the previous match. In the powerplay, English pacer Sakib Mahmud bowled effectively, with other bowlers also keeping the West Indies under pressure. This time, the West Indies couldn’t produce any late-order fireworks, and their innings ended at 158 runs.
With this modest total, it was always going to be difficult for the West Indies to stop England, especially when Buttler returned to form. The England captain’s 83 runs off 45 balls, including 8 fours and 6 sixes, played a pivotal role in sealing the match for his team.
The West Indies had a promising start in the run chase, with Salt hitting the first ball of the innings for a cover drive. However, England quickly took control, with Will Jacks and Buttler forming a 129-run partnership off 72 balls, with Jacks contributing 38 off 29 balls.
After Salt’s dismissal, Jacks took over the counterattack. Buttler, after struggling early with only 3 runs off 10 balls, found his rhythm in the fourth over, hitting two consecutive boundaries off Matthew Ford. From that point on, Buttler was unstoppable.
Jacks wasn’t far behind, but on the day, he seemed to be more of a spectator as Buttler dazzled with his batting display. Buttler reached his fifty off just 32 balls, hitting a six off Roston Chase. He followed this with another six and a four off the debutant Terence Hinds and two sixes and a four off Chase’s second over. The century seemed only a matter of time.
However, a minor setback occurred when Romario Shepherd, who had given away 21 runs in his first over, made a comeback, dismissing both Buttler and Jacks in a single over. But England was already in control, and Liam Livingstone finished the job with a quickfire 23* off 11 balls, hitting two fours and a six off Shepherd’s three consecutive balls.
In the first half of the match, England’s pacers got them off to a strong start, aided by some assistance from the pitch due to morning rain. Jofra Archer and Sakib Mahmud claimed three wickets between them in the first four overs.
The West Indies tried to fight back through Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell in the fourth wicket partnership, but they struggled to make an impact. Pooran faced 23 balls for his 14 runs, while Powell, after a slow start, finished with 43 runs off 41 balls, including two fours and two sixes.
Shepherd played a cameo, scoring 22 off 12 balls, but no other West Indian batsman could contribute much. The West Indies failed to set a competitive total and couldn’t stop Buttler either.
England will now look to seal the series when they face the West Indies in Saint Lucia on Thursday.
Brief Scores:
West Indies: 158/8 in 20 overs (King 1, Lewis 8, Pooran 14, Chase 13, Powell 43, Rutherford 1, Shepherd 22, Moti 9, Ford 13*, Hinds 5*; Archer 4-0-31-1, Sakib 3-0-20-2, Rashid 4-0-32-1, Curran 3-1-20-0, Livingstone 2-0-16-2, Mujli 4-0-29-2).
England: 183/2 in 16.5 overs (Salt 0, Jacks 38, Buttler 83, Livingstone 23*, Bethel 3*; Akil 4-0-24-1, Ford 2-0-17-0, Shepherd 2.5-0-42-2, Moti 2-0-16-0, Chase 2-0-34-0, Hinds 2-0-24-0).
Result: England won by 8 wickets.
Series: England leads 2-0 after two matches of the five-match series.
Man of the Match: Jos Buttler.
