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West Indies took on England in Dubai as both teams looked for a winning start after the drama five years ago. Follow all the action here...
Walk in the park for England as West Indies batting implodes
England took 8.2 overs to knock off their paltry target of 56 against holders West Indies for the loss of four wickets in an anti-climax of the highest order in the first of Super-12 matches at the Dubai International Stadium this evening.
Jos Buttler (16) and captain Eoin Morgan (7) stay unseparated at the end after they lost Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone during a casual chase.
Earlier, West Indies, the only side to have won the World T20 twice, imploded in a way only they can to be all out for 55 against England in what was the third lowest total in the history of the tournament.
Akeal Hosain seems to provide the only positive for West Indies as the young spinner finishes with 2/24 after bowling in Powerplay. He completes a stunner for his second caught & bowled to send back Livingstone.
A chase of a paltry target can sometimes cause an air of casualness. Moeen Ali, 3, is run out in a soft dismissal as Liam Livingstone joins Buttler. England 36/3
Jonny Bairstow is the second England wicket to fall as spinner Hossein lunges to complete a c&B chance. England 30/2
England lose Roy as he tries to flick a cutter from the seasoned Rampaul which ends up in Gayle's hands in short mid-wicket. 21/1.
England openers Jason Roy & Jos Buttler start strongly in the first two overs. Buttler creams Rampaul through covers, Roy takes on Akael over extra over. England 20/0 after 3 overs.
West Indies batting implodes to be all out for 55
Innings break
West Indies, the only side to have won the World T20 twice, imploded in a way only they can to be all out for 55 against England in the first of the Super-12 matches in Dubai on Saturday. It’s the third lowest total in the history of the tournament. England spinners Adel Rashid and Moeen Ali returned with dream figures, the leg spinner’s figures reading an unreal 2.2-0-2-4 while Moeen and medium pacer Tymal Mills claimed two wickets each. It was some mindless batting on part of the champions and the match can only tilt England’s way from here. Chris Gayle was the topscorer with 13 runs before he failed to execute his pull against an accurate Mills. Be ready for an early finish tonight…
The West Indies implosion is complete as they are all out for 55 off 14.2 as Ravi Rampaul is bowled round his legs by Rashid. The England leg spinner will be mighty pleased with a figures of 2.2-0-2-4.
The West Indies procession continues as they lose Pollard and McCoy off successive deliveries from Adel Rashid. A hat-trick is averted as they manage to cross 50. An early finish on the cards in Dubai. WI 49/9 in 13th over.
Andre Russell is the seventh wicket to fall, bowled through the gate by Rashid for no score. It’s certainly one of the worst batting performances by the two-time champions who take a lot of pride in this format. WI 44/7 in 10.1 over.
When will Nicholas Pooran deliver? He cannot resist a drive outside the off stump to Mills and is caught behind. Everything is going England’s way so far. WI 42/6 and we are not even halfway the innings.
'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle's poor form continues. He couldn’t keep his pull in control off a nippy Tymal Mills and Dawid Malan completes a brilliant catch outside the circle. WI 31/4
'Universe Boss' Chris Gayle's poor form continues. He couldn’t keep his pull in control off a nippy Tymal Mills and Dawid Malan completes a brilliant catch outside the circle. WI 31/4
West Indies lose wicket no.2 as Lendl Simmons tries to give Moeen Ali the charge and is caught at the deep by Livingstone. A poor powerplay for them so far. WI 9/2 and it’s wicket maiden for Moeen.
It's thoughtless cricket from West Indies as one needs to adopt the wait-and-watch here. Shimron Hetmyer, who picked up two boundaries in the previous over, picks up the wrong length and lifts into Morgan’s hands at mid-wicket. WI 27/3 off 4.4 overs.
West Indies lose Lewis
West Indies lose their first wicket in Evin Lewis. The opener fails to clear the long off boundary off a slower one from Chris Woakes and holes out to Moeen Ali. WI 8/1 in 1.3 overs.
Here we go
It will be a rematch of last edition’s final in 2016 as West Indies, two-time champions of T20 World Cup, open their campaign against England on the opening day of Super-12 fixtures at Dubai International Stadium this evening.
Eoin Morgan’s men, most of them have had a better grounding in this format since the last edition in IPL, Big Bash and now The Hundred, are certainly among the title-contenders. They will, however, be missing the likes of star allrounder Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and young Sam Curran while Morgan’s batting form is a point of concern.
It may not have been the best of run-ups to the tournament for West Indies who lost both their warm-up games, but be ready to expect the unexpected from them….
