(Cricket news) West Indies and England have had some nail biting finishes in the T20 format. The second T20 of England tour of West Indies added yet another classic to the show as it was the bat which had the last laugh. England looked for a comfortable win in the last few overs of the match but Akeal Hosein almost pulled off what Carlos Brathwaite did 6 years ago in the T20 World Cup final.
West Indies won the toss and opted to ball first as they did well in the powerplay by getting two wickets for 40 runs. Jason Roy and Moeen Ali were the only ones who had a bit of a long stay at the crease and a few hits by Chris Jordan in 17th over saw them nearing 150. The team had to give it all to set 172 runs for the hosts to chase.
The West Indies had a slower start than England, they lost the openers by the third over with 6 runs on board. They scored 33 runs in 6 overs as the bowlers could not have given the team a finer start. The match looked like it got over as early as the 10th over when the score was 55-4, they needed 117 runs in 60 balls and the departure of captain Kieron Pollard just kept the bowlers on course for a smooth spell.
Jason Holder lasted 6 balls until he struck a ball over Moeen Ali’s head but the bowler caught it as his reflexes were as fast as MS Dhoni’s stumpings. Romario Shepherd was the first batter to give the England bowlers a tough time and then joined in Akeal Hosein as the pair hit 9 sixes but it was Hosein who almost managed to give the team a 2-0 lead in the series.
Chris Jordan had gone for 16 runs in his first 2 overs and in the third over he was struck for three sixes as the 18th yielded 23 runs. In the next over, Reece Topley gave away just 8 runs as it was again in favor of the visitors and 30 was needed off the final over.
Saqib Mahmood clearly was under pressure even though he needed two good balls but the memory of Ben Stokes being hit by Brathwaite 6 years ago was still fresh. Saqib started with a wide and then a dot ball as the twist in the tale went on. Hosein hit two boundaries in the next two balls, a wide in the next ball brought Kingston Oval closer to a homecoming victory. A hat trick of sixes by Hosein ended the match in a heartbreak for the left hander as he sat down to process the defeat.
England: 171/8 in 20 overs
West Indies: 170/8 in 20 overs
Player of the match: Moeen Ali (30 runs from 24 balls, 4×3, 6×1), ( 4-24-3).
