England thrash Windies; Aussies beat Proteas
DUBAI: Adil Rashid returned figures of 4-2 to set up a six-wicket victory for England after they dismissed defending champions West Indies for a paltry 55 at the Twenty20 World Cup yesterday. West Indies rattled England’s top order before Jos Buttler (24) and skipper Eoin Morgan (7) took the team home in 8.2 overs in Dubai.
Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein took two wickets and Moeen Ali was run out, but the target proved too meagre to challenge England. Moeen opened the bowling for England with his off-spin and made an instant impact, first with a sharp running catch to remove Evin Lewis. He then got the wicket of Lendl Simmons.
Pace bowler Tymal Mills claimed two wickets including Chris Gayle, the only batsman to make double figures with his 13, as West Indies crumbled in a poor batting performance from the two-time champions. Rashid entered the attack with West Indies on 44-6 and bowled the big-hitting Andre Russell for nought. He took two more wickets in successive balls in his next over and then wrapped up the innings. He returned outstanding figures of 4-2 from his 2.2 overs of leg-spin.
West Indies avoided their worst T20 total of 45 against the same opposition in 2019. The two sides met five years after their clash in the 2016 final in Kolkata when Carlos Brathwaite hit Ben Stokes for four straight sixes in the last over. But with yesterday’s crushing performance, England have fired a warning to their rivals in the seventh edition of T20’s showpiece event.
Earlier yesterday, Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade stood unbeaten to help Australia prevail in a tense finish against South Africa and win by five wickets in the Twenty20 World Cup. Chasing a modest 119 for victory, Australia were in trouble at 81-5 after Steve Smith, who scored 35, and Glenn Maxwell, who made 18, departed. Stoinis, who made 24, stood firm and put on an unbeaten stand of 40 with the left-handed Wade, who made 15. Stoinis hit the winning boundary to take Australia over the line with two balls to spare. — AFP