Rutherford, Bowlers Lead West Indies To 30-Run Win Over England In T20 World Cup

West Indies cricket team continued their strong run in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with a commanding 30-run victory over England national cricket team in a high-scoring encounter at the Wankhede Stadium on Tuesday.

A brilliant unbeaten knock from Sherfane Rutherford and late fireworks from Jason Holder powered the Windies to a competitive total, before disciplined spells from Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase sealed the result.

England captain Harry Brook won the toss and opted to field first. The decision seemed justified early as openers Shai Hope and Brandon King were dismissed within the first two overs.

However, West Indies rebuilt through Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Roston Chase (34), who added 47 runs in 28 balls to push the score to 55/3 during the powerplay.

Rutherford then took control of the innings with a powerful display of hitting. He smashed seven sixes and two fours in an unbeaten 76, forming key partnerships with Rovman Powell (51-run stand for the fifth wicket) and Holder (61-run stand for the sixth wicket).

Holder accelerated sharply in the death overs, striking three towering sixes off Sam Curran in the 17th over. His 33 off 17 balls helped West Indies collect 54 runs in the final four overs and finish on 196/6 in 20 overs.

For England, Jamie Overton (2/33) and Adil Rashid (2/16) were the most effective bowlers, while Jofra Archer (1/48) and Sam Curran (1/36) claimed one wicket each.

Chasing 197, England started aggressively through Phil Salt, who smashed 24 runs in Jason Holder’s second over. Salt raced to 30 off 14 balls, including four boundaries and two sixes, before being dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the fourth over.

Jacob Bethell joined Jos Buttler, and the pair kept the scoreboard moving as England reached 67/1 at the end of the powerplay.

The turning point came in the middle overs when spin duo Chase and Motie struck in quick succession. Chase removed Buttler for 21, while Motie dismissed Banton soon after.

Bethell scored 33 before falling to Motie’s sharp spin, and England slipped to 131/5 after 14 overs. In the following over, Chase trapped Will Jacks leg before wicket, leaving England struggling at 134/6.

Harry Brook managed 17, but England failed to regain momentum. Sam Curran remained unbeaten on 30, yet the required rate climbed steadily as wickets kept falling. England were eventually bowled out for 166 in 16.5 overs, handing West Indies a comfortable 30-run win.

Motie finished with figures of 3/33, while Chase returned 2/29 to underline the Windies’ control in the crucial middle phase.

Shai Hope Hails Complete Performance, Rutherford Credits Preparation

West Indies skipper Shai Hope expressed satisfaction with the team’s overall performance, stating that his side finally delivered a more complete display after showing flashes of quality in earlier games.

“I’m just happy that the guys got off the line. We’ve been playing some good cricket patches. Nice to see we’ve got more of a complete game today. He’s a versatile player. He’s one that you can come and depend on in very good, more situations. With the bat, he can come in and stabilise the innings, and then with the ball, he can come and give you some crucial overs in the middle,” Shai Hope said after the match, praising Roston Chase’s all-round contribution.

England captain Harry Brook admitted the loss was disappointing but credited West Indies for their powerful batting display.

“Yeah, a little bit disappointing. Obviously, it’s never nice to lose a game, but the West Indies played outstandingly. Everybody knows how much power they’ve got. If you’re slightly off your line or length, then they manage to hit it for six. (on the score by West Indies) Yeah, we probably thought that it was chaseable for sure. It probably didn’t do as much as we were expecting. It didn’t skid onto the bat as much as we were expecting. And yeah, we thought we’d had a chance, definitely,” Harry Brook said.

Speaking after the game, Rutherford credited his preparation and mindset for the performance on the big stage.

“First of all, I want to thank God for this opportunity, you know, playing on the biggest stage. My finger is good, and hopefully I’ll be fit for the next game,” Rutherford said, as quoted by Cricbuzz.

He also revealed that England spinner Adil Rashid was identified as the key threat in pre-match discussions.

“I think one of the biggest challenges was Adil Rashid. In our meetings, we knew he was going to be the toughest bowler for us. So for me, it was important to try and keep him out of the game, keep rotating the strike, build a partnership, and back ourselves to make up for it at the end,” he added.

Reflecting on his approach, Rutherford explained how trusting his process allowed him to accelerate at the right time.

“For me, once I trust my process and read the situation, I know that once I’m in, I can always score at the end. So it was important to have a clear mind and play more in time. I think we were probably about 10 runs short. With England batting, we know how powerful they are. But I think the guys really stood up tonight and bowled well, so credit to them. This result means a lot for us.”

Harry Brook Admits England “Didn’t Execute Well”

England national cricket team captain Harry Brook said his side failed to execute their plans properly and were “a little bit careful” during their 30-run loss to West Indies cricket team in their second group-stage match of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday.

Brook admitted that his team may have been overly cautious in the run chase and misjudged the pitch conditions.

“One thing I would say is we were probably a little bit careful. Chasing nearly 200 is always a big ask and like I said we didn’t think – we thought the pitch would get a little bit better and it’d slide onto the bat a bit more and that didn’t happen, but yeah – like I said we were probably a little bit careful, myself included,” Harry Brook said in the post-match presentation, as quoted by the ICC website.

“We probably didn’t execute as well as we usually can. We didn’t quite execute well enough with the ball and they probably got 15, 20 too many. We thought it was chasable, definitely. We obviously planned for dew and it didn’t quite get as dew as we thought, and it didn’t quite slide onto the bat as much as we were expecting. But yeah, T20 cricket’s such a fickle game and the West Indians are such a powerful side,” Brook said.