BRIDGETOWN: Rovman Powell’s blistering century laid the foundation for West Indies’ 20-run win over England in the third Twenty20 international at Bridgetown on Wednesday as they went 2-1 up in a five-match series.
The recalled Powell’s 107 off just 53 balls, as well as his fourth-wicket stand of 122 with Nicholas Pooran (70), helped take the West Indies to an imposing 224-5 after stand-in England captain Moeen Ali won the toss.
“I know I can strike the ball well,” said player-of-the-match Powell. “I had a problem against wrist spin and the last seven months I went away and have been working on that and opening up the off side.
“Everything came out of the middle today.”
Tom Banton hit six sixes in a rapid 73 and Phil Salt 57 on his T20 international debut as England tried to chase down 225, with Moeen leading a new-look side after regular captain Eoin Morgan pulled his quad during the warm-up.
But they lost wickets before finishing on 204-9 in a remarkable match yielding over 400 runs.
“A fantastic partnership took the game away from us but I’m proud of the way the boys batted at the end,” said Moeen.
Powell’s impressive display of ball-striking, including four fours and 10 soaring sixes, saw the 28-year-old Jamaican become only the third West Indies batsman after Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle, who have both performed the feat twice, to make a Twenty20 international hundred.
Score Board
England won the toss
West Indies Innings
King b Garton 10
Hope† c †Banton b Livingstone 4
Pooran c Livingstone b Rashid 70
Powell c Livingstone b Topley 107
Shepherd not out 11
Allen c †Banton b Mills 0
Pollard (c) not out 9
Extras: (lb 4, nb 2, w 7) 13
Total: (20 Ov, RR: 11.20) 224/5
Did not bat: Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell
Fall: 1-11, 1.5 ov 2-48, 5.2 ov 3-170, 16.2 ov 4-210, 18.6 ov 5-210, 19.1 ov
Bowling: Reece Topley 4-0-30-1 George Garton 4-0-57-1 Tymal Mills 4-0-52-1 Liam Livingstone 3-0-42-1 Adil Rashid 4-0-25-1 Moeen Ali 1-0-14-0
Englan Innings (Target: 225 runs)
Jason Roy c Holder b Shepherd 19
Tom † c Holder b Pollard 73
Vince c Pollard b Hosein 16
Moeen (c) c Powell b Pollard 0
Liam c Hosein b Shepherd 11
Salt b Shepherd 57
Brook c Powell b Holder 10
Garton b Cottrell 2
Rashid run out (†Hope/Cottrell) 1
Tymal Mills not out 1
Topley not out 2
Extras: (w 12) 12
Total: (20 Ov, RR: 10.20) 204/9
Fall: 1-33, 3.2 ov 2-79, 7.5 ov 3-87, 8.4 ov 4-107, 11.1 ov 5-129, 12.3 ov 6-174, 17.1 ov 7-186, 18.4 ov 8-187, 18.6 ov 9-201, 19.3 ov
Bowling: Sheldon Cottrell 4-0-28-1 Jason Holder 4-0-41-1 Romario Shepherd 4-0-59-3 Akeal Hosein 3-0-36-1 Kieron Pollard 4-0-31-2 Rovman Powell 1-0-9-0
Result: West Indies won by 20 runs
Man of the match: Rovman Powell (WI)
T20I Debut: George Garton, George Garton (ENG)
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite, Leslie Reifer
