West Indies could not repeat the heroics of the first match as England easily won the second encounter in this three-match CG United One-Day International Series. Playing in front of a colorful and lively crowd at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Tuesday, West Indies lost by six wickets – which now means Saturday’s finale at Kensington Oval in Barbados as the all-important series decider.
Full scorecard here: Match Centre
Four days after chasing down 326 to pull off a sensational win in the opener, West Indies could only muster 202 to be bowled out in the 40th over, after being asked to bat first in the day/night contest.
Captain Shai Hope followed up his unbeaten 109 with a top score of 68 at a run-a-ball while left-hander Sherfane Rutherford stroked a responsible 63 off 80 balls, to post his maiden ODI fifty in his second game.
Left-arm seamer Sam Curran, who leaked 98 runs in the opener, returned with 3-33 to wreck the top order in an incisive new-ball spell and earn Man-of-the-Match honors while off-spinner Liam Livingstone (3-39) also chipped in with three wickets.
In reply, England survived a stumble to comfortably chase down their target in the 33rd over, captain Jos Buttler returning to form with an unbeaten 58 off 45 balls and starring in an unbroken 90-run, fifth-wicket partnership with Harry Brook who made 43 not out off 49 balls.
However, it was opener Will Jacks who laid the foundation for the successful run chase, with 73 off 72 balls. Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (2-34) struck twice in successive overs as West Indies fought back
Hope said afterward:
“As we all can see, we didn’t start as well as we should’ve with the bat. We put ourselves under a bit of pressure there. But I must also take the positive from the game: Sherfane played a really good innings there to get us out of a hole but again, we also didn’t finish as well as we could have.”
Hope added:
“We didn’t play the situations smart enough and I think that’s what caused that downfall in the back end. We have to win the game at Kensington Oval to win the series and everything we need to do, whether it is from more planning … more preparation … we’ve got to be ready for the next game coming.”
