Phil Salt has shown outstanding performance; he was dismissed for 87 n. o. of 47 balls, and England won the match by eight wickets against West Indies during the T20 World Cup Super 8s match in Saint Lucia. This excited chase was best symbolized by Salt who made a breathtaking 16th over off Romario Shepherd featuring three sixes and three fours to get England home with 15 balls to spare and much like the women’s game, a consistently strong velocity was maintained right to the end.
Salt registered the fastest half-century of the tournament and Jonny Bairstow contributed with 48 not out from 26 balls as the outgoing England cruised to the top of the Super 8s Group 2. Another testament to Bairstow’s nuisance was the three-part boundary explosion off Akeal Hosein in the 15th over that set England in an almighty commanding position.
Earlier, West Indies managed 180 for 4 in its 20 overs; Johnson Charles count for 38 off 34, Rovman Powell made 36 off 17 balls and Nicholas Pooran accounted for 36 off 32 balls. West Indies failed to get going and apart from Shai Hope’s (10) brief cameo, none of the other batsmen could really make any sort of impact against a disciplined England bowling display; Adil Rashid (1-21) and Moeen Ali (1-15) especially.
England’s captain Jos Buttler lauded the performance strategy displaying an ideal aggressive, albeit measured, cricket play by the team while commending the splendid effort from Salt and Bairstow. The win places England firmly in the realm of title contenders; they showcased how they can pursue big targets with both assertive and strategic prowess with the bat.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell agreed that there were dropped catches and that the team ignored their bowling strategies at times but upheld positive sentiments concerning that team’s potentiality in the tournament. West Indies will play their next T20Is against the USA in Bridgetown, Barbados, whereas England will play their next T20Is against South Africa in Saint Lucia.
