BRIDGETOWN: A blistering 107 from Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran’s half-century helped West Indies secure a 20-run victory over England here at the Kensington Oval on Wednesday and take a 2-1 lead in the five-match Twenty20 International series.

After losing the second match by one run, the hosts posted a challenging 224-5 in 20 overs with Powell’s 53-ball knock including 10 sixes and four boundaries.

He combined well with Pooran, who scored 70 from 43 balls, as the pair put on 122 runs for the third wicket after England won the toss and opted to field.

England, who were without injured skipper Eoin Morgan and handed debuts to three players, managed 204-9 in 20 overs, including a battling 73 by Tom Banton and 57 by Phil Salt lower down the order in his first T20 International.

West Indies paceman Romario Shepherd took 3-59 while skipper Kie­ron Pollard claimed two wickets to seal the win.

“Kudos to Rovman. He came in and took his chance,” Pollard said. “We had a good discussion about our batting and what we wanted to do. It was a complete game, I’m happy for the guys.

“The challenge is coming back again, we want to replicate that performance.”

England stand-in skipper Moeen Ali said the side had missed Morgan’s influence but looked forward to the final two matches on Sat­u­rday and Sunday.

“A fantastic partnership took the game away from us but proud of the way the boys batted at the end,” Moeen said. “We’ve got guys putting their hands up ... We’re confident in our side and we said from the start it would be a brilliant series.”

Scoreboard

WEST INDIES:

B.King b Garton 10

S.Hope c Banton b Livingstone 4

N. Pooran c Livingstone b Rashid 70

R. Powell c Livingstone b Topley 107

R. Shepherd not out 11

F. Allen c Banton b Mills 0

K. Pollard not out 9

EXTRAS (LB-4, NB-2, W-7) 13

TOTAL (for five wickets, 20 overs) 224

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-11 (King), 2-48 (Hope), 3-170 (Pooran), 4-210 (Powell), 5-210 (Allen)

DID NOT BAT: Bravo, Holder, Hosein, Cottrell

BOWLING: Topley 4-0-30-1 (1w); Garton 4-0-57-1 (1nb); Tymal Mills 4-0-52-1 (1w, 1nb); Livingstone

3-0-42-1 (1w); Rashid 4-0-25-1; Moeen 1-0-14-0

ENGLAND:

J.Roy c Holder b Shepherd 19

T. Banton c Holder b Pollard 73

J. Vince c Pollard b Hosein 16

M. Ali c Powell b Pollard 0

L. Livingstone c Hosein b Shepherd 11

P. Salt b Shepherd 57

H. Brook c Powell b Holder 10

G. Garton b Cottrell 2

A. Rashid run out 1

T. Mills not out 1

R. Topley not out 2

EXTRAS (W-12) 12

TOTAL (for nine wickets, 20 overs) 204

FALL OF WICKETS: 1-33 (Roy), 2-79 (Vince), 3-87 (Moeen), 4-107 (Livingstone), 5-129 (Banton), 6-174 (Brook), 7-186 (Garton), 8-187 (Rashid), 9-201 (Salt)

BOWLING: Cottrell 4-0-28-1 (1w); Jason Holder 4-0-41-1 (1w); Shepherd 4-0-59-3 (3w); Hosein 3-0-36-1; Pollard 4-0-31-2 (2w); Powell 1-0-9-0 9.00

RESULT: West Indies win by 20 runs.

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Rovman Powell

SERIES: West Indies lead five-match series 2-1.

UMPIRES: Gregory Brathwaite, Leslie Reifer (both West Indies)

TV UMPIRE: Nigel Duguid (West Indies)

MATCH REFEREE: Richard Richardson (West Indies)

Published in Dawn, January 28th, 2022