MUMBAI: Sherfane Rutherford hammered an unbeaten half-century and Gudakesh Motie starred with the ball as West Indies defeated England by 30 runs in their Twenty20 World Cup Group C match on Wednesday.
Rutherford struck seven sixes in a belligerent 76 not out off 42 balls to anchor West Indies’ total of 196-6 after a shaky start, with the twice champions recovering from the loss of both openers in the first seven deliveries.
West Indies then leaned on their spinners to stifle England’s chase, bowling them out for 166 in 19 overs to claim their second successive win and move to the top of the group. England slipped to third place, behind Scotland, after their first defeat of the tournament.
“Disappointing. It’s never nice to lose a game, but West Indies played outstanding,” England captain Harry Brook said. “We thought it was a chaseable total for sure, but it didn’t dew up as much as we expected and didn’t skid onto the bat.”
Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Roston Chase (34) steadied West Indies early on before Rutherford took control at the Wankhede Stadium. He added 61 runs with Jason Holder, who struck four sixes in a rapid 33 off 17 balls, to push the total close to 200.
England leg-spinner Adil Rashid was the standout bowler, conceding just 16 runs in his four overs and removing Chase and Rovman Powell.
In reply, England started brightly before losing Phil Salt for 30 in the fourth over. Chase dismissed Jos Buttler for 21, and left-arm spinner Motie delivered a crucial double strike as England slid to 93-4 at the halfway mark.
Brook attempted to rebuild but was caught and bowled by Motie, who finished with 3-33, while Chase trapped Will Jacks lbw to tighten West Indies’ grip. Sam Curran fought back with an unbeaten 43 down the order, but England ran out of support.
“I have put in a lot of work coming into the World Cup,” Rutherford said. “I trust my process and I can score runs in the end when I play with a clear mind. We were maybe 10 runs behind what we wanted given England’s powerful batting, but the guys bowled well.”
