T20 WC: Salt, Bairstow lead England to crushing eight-wicket win over West Indies

With some eye-catching stroke play, Philip Salt and Jonny Bairstow led England to a resounding 8-wicket win over the co-hosts, the West Indies, chasing a target of 181 runs in under 18 overs on Wednesday night (local time), bringing the defending champions a step closer to a semi-final spot in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

With their aggressive batting and unorthodox shots, Salt and Bairstow neutralized the threat posed by the West Indies pacers.

The eight-wicket defeat ended the West Indies’ eight-match winning streak.

Chasing 181, Salt and the English skipper navigated through the powerplay to ease the nerves in the dugout. Off-break spinner Roston Chase brought the co-hosts back into the game by dismissing Buttler (25). Moments later, Andre Russell struck another blow by removing Moeen Ali.

Bairstow arrived following Moeen’s dismissal and pulled the game back in England’s favor. The fluency in his strokes, with Salt playing a supporting role at the other end, changed the course of the game.

The dynamic between the duo changed after Salt raised his bat for fifty. He went berserk, smashing 30 runs in Romario Shepherd’s over to completely kill the West Indies’ chances of winning the game.

In the 16th over, he hit the ball three times into the stands and found the fence the same number of times to raise the heat. Bairstow took the winning single on the third ball of the 18th over to make a strong statement for the defending champions. Salt and Bairstow walked back to the dugout unbeaten with scores of 87* (47) and 48* (26), respectively.

Earlier in the innings, Sherfane Rutherford’s cameo of 28 off 15 balls and Johnson Charles’ 38 helped the West Indies post 180 runs in the first innings in St. Lucia. Eventually, England just managed to prevent the hosts from scoring close to 200.

After being put to bat, the West Indies got off to a splendid start as openers Brandon King and Johnson Charles stamped their authority, slamming England bowlers all around the ground.

The pair had the Windies flying at 40/0 early in the fifth over, but the hosts were hit with a big blow as, attempting to drive an England pacer Sam Curran’s ball down the ground, King picked up what appeared to be a groin complaint and had to retire hurt.

The in-form Nicholas Pooran joined Charles at the crease, bringing the total to 54 runs in six overs—a strong powerplay performance.

Pooran smoked Mark Wood for a long leg side six to begin the eighth over, but England tightened their hold on leaking runs. The West Indies scored 82 runs in the first ten overs, losing no wickets.

Pooran continued his great form, complementing Charles’ patient approach with some aggressive stroke play.

The Windies were cruising until Charles fell in the 11th over while trying to accelerate. In came captain Rovman Powell, who went berserk, smashing 36 off just 17 balls before falling prey to Liam Livingstone.

The English found some fight in the final five overs. Jofra Archer found the edge of Pooran’s bat, removing the heavy hitter for 36 off 32 balls.

Andre Russell couldn’t wreak much damage, and Pooran soon followed, with the Windies losing 3 wickets for just 6 runs, putting a dent in their scoring rate.

Rutherford played a crucial cameo in the backend and helped the West Indies post a competitive total on the board.

Brief score: West Indies 180/4 (Johnson Charles 38, Rovman Powell 36; Moeen Ali 1-15) vs. England 181/2 (Philip Salt 87*, Jonny Bairstow 48*; Roston Chase 1-19).