West Indies Vs England, T20 World Cup Highlights: Marauding Salt Takes ENG To Eight-Wicket Win

Welcome to the highlights of our coverage of the Group 2 clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2024's Super Eight, played between West Indies and England at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (West Indies) on Thursday (June 20). In a high-scoring match between two heavyweights, England comprehensively defeated West Indies by eight wickets. Jos Buttler and Co chased down the hosts' target of 181 runs with ease, courtesy a fabulous knock from Phil Salt (87 not out off 47 balls) and aided by Jonny Bairstow (48 not out off 26). The English bowlers, led by spin twins Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali, earlier did well to restrict the power-packed Windies batting line-up to a 180-run total on a good pitch for batting. The loss was West Indies' first in nine T20 internationals. Catch the highlights of the WI vs ENG match at T20 WC 2024, right here. (Match Report | Scorecard | Full Coverage)

West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shai Hope, Rovman Powell (c), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Obed McCoy, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Shimron Hetmyer, Shamar Joseph.

England: Philip Salt, Jos Buttler (wk/c), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Jordan, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley, Mark Wood, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Tom Hartley.

West Indies hold the upper hand in the T20I head-to-head stats, having won 17 out of 29 clashes, as against England's 12.

The weather in St Lucia is currently pleasant, though there is a 12% chance of rain. During the match, the temperature is expected to hover in the late 20s (degree Celsius) The humidity level might vary between 80 and 83% with a wind speed of 22 km/h.

England captain Jos Buttler has won the toss and decided to bowl first against West Indies.

Playing XIs

West Indies: Johnson Charles, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (C/WK), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.

Jos Buttler: "It is a good wicket and we fancy a chase. One change from the last game - Mark Wood comes in for Chris Jordan. (On Liam Livingstone) He's fit to play a full game, a few games have been a bit sick. The West Indies is the place to be, there is a great atmosphere."

Rovman Powell: "We would have bowled as well. Hopefully, our batters can make the most of it here. Two changes - Roston Chase in for Shai Hope, Romario in for Obed McCoy. We've been playing some good cricket and hopefully we continue to do the same, and continue to get this crowd support."

The umpires and both teams stride out to the centre for the pre-match national anthems.

Brandon King takes strike first up against tall left-arm English seamer Reece Topley. Johnson Charles at the other end for West Indies. Two wides in what is otherwise a decent first over. Five runs result.

Brandon King calls for a new bat, and smacks Reece Topley for a towering six straight away. The 101-metre monster strike lands outside the stadium into the car park, and the ball has to be replaced. Windies well and truly away.

He was going hammer and tongs, but Brandon King unfortunately has to walk off the field after injuring his groin. He had made 23 runs off 13 balls before this. Could England make the most of a shift in momentum?

Nicholas Pooran comes in at number 3 after King retires hurt, and is off the blocks straight away. The West Indian batters seem cognizant of how good the surface is, and are going all guns blazing even after the powerplay.

Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali are into the attack, and have found some turn and slowed down the tempo. Johnson Charles is batting at almost run-a-ball (30 off 29) and needs to get a move on. The Windies are at 82 for no loss at the halfway mark of their innings.

Johnson Charles perishes in the endeavour to up the scoring rate. Moeen Ali bowls one wide outside the off stump, and Charles' lofted drive lands straight in long on's hands. WI skipper Rovman Powell now at the crease.

Rovman Powell is hitting them cleanly. The Windies skipper has smashed four sixes in his first 14 balls, and a slugfest is in the offing. Stay tuned.

Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell have all departed in a space of 12 balls, and West Indies' attempted final onslaught has thus been halted, at least for now. Sherfane Rutherford and Romario Shepherd now at the crease.

Sherfane Rutherford has needed barely any time to settle in, hitting a six and four soon enough to signal his intent. West Indies now aiming for a 180-plus total, perhaps.

The 20th over yields 12 runs, but the 19th by Sam Curran just six as West Indies end with 180 runs. Probably a par score on this surface, which looks pretty good for batting. Sherfane Rutherford ends unbeaten on 28 off 15 balls. A bunch of WI batters got starts and played cameos, but none of them could kick on or even cross the 40-run mark. Let's see how the England chase pans out.

Akeal Hosein has the new ball in hand for West Indies. The left-arm spinner bowls a tidy first over to England openers Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. Five runs off it.

Phil Salt and Jos Buttler are looking to cash in on the powerplay restrictions and are now finding the gaps with ease. England have out 36 runs on the board without loss in the first four overs.

West Indies have the breakthrough they needed. Jos Buttler departs to some smart bowling from Roston Chase, who bowls full and straight to an advancing Buttler and catches him plumb in front. Moeen Ali in at 3.

A couple of tight overs from Roston Chase have pulled things back a bit for West Indies. Though England have only lost Jos Buttler in the first 10 overs, they have scored 83 runs and hence the required run rate is now 9.8.

Despite Moeen Ali's dismissal, England have inched ahead in the game courtesy some common-sense, purposeful T20 cricket from Jonny Bairstow and Phil Salt. Bairstow yet to play a dot ball after facing 16 deliveries, while Salt nears his fifty. Asking rate down below nine now.

Phil Salt has smoked 30 runs off the 16th over bowled by Romario Shepherd to swing the game entirely England's way. He took some to find his stride, but Salt has since been unstoppable and has put England on the doorstep of a resounding win.

The Bairstow-Salt pair finishes off the job, taking England to a comprehensive eight-wicket win over West Indies. With that, the defending champions inflict West Indies' first T20I defeat in nine games.

Phil Salt is the Player Of The Match for his match-winning unbeaten 87 off 47 balls. Here's what he said after England's win:

"Not looking too far ahead. Glad to contribute to the win. It was a little tough in the middle with the spin. But Bairstow spoke to me, and had those words in my mind. Did not take on the spinners, and cashed on at the back end. Lot of different factors that can affect an innings. There was a period where I did not face a lot of balls, but important to stick around and carry on. Jonny was fantastic, took pressure off me by taking calculated risks. Couldn't be happier as a team-mate"

Rovman Powell: "You have to look at it from batting perspective. We left 15-20 runs there. Needed a better display as a bowling group. We are generally good in the last five overs. The execution wasn't good, need to re-evaluate. Hopefully (Brandon) King can pull through for the next two games. Credit to (Phil) Salt, he always hurts us. We fell away from our plans to Phil. Need to look back and evaluate. Our destiny is in our own hands, just for us to continue playing some good cricket."

Jos Buttler: "That was a really good performance. We were practising well, executed well today. [Chasing 180] We bowled well to restrict a powerful batting line up. We were smart with the bat, the guys were calculative. Bairstow-Salt partnership was very good. Jonny took the game deep and Salty broke it with that one over. That's why we brought Jof [Archer] back there with Pooran and Russell in. We wanted to use him to get a wicket or restrict them and make the back five really difficult. [Rashid] He is our most important player. Has so much variations and restricts runs. Jonny batted at No. 4 today, class player for a really long time. You keep backing class players. Incredible, mature, senior player's innings. People say you learn when you lose, but you learn when you win as well. Important to put this to bed and focus now."

That's a wrap from us, for the WI vs ENG match. We will be back with live updates from the India vs Afghanistan clash in the evening. Until then, goodbye.