Jos Buttler, the captain of England, commended the West Indies team and stated that they had improved their game adaptation following the dismal four-wicket loss in the opening Twenty20 International on Wednesday at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Buttler expressed his disappointment at not reaching the 200-run mark in the first innings during the post-match presentation. Regarding the game’s positive aspects, the English captain complimented Rehan Ahmed and batter Phil Salt.
It was only going to get more difficult. We were disappointed not to reach 200, but they adjusted better, slowing down the pace of the ball. While we want to keep pushing the envelope, our main goal is to score as many runs as possible while minimising dot balls—20–25 would have been the ideal number. We faced two powerful hitters and the ball did get wet, so it had to be changed. A few things went right: Phil Salt and Rehan Ahmed had the better big hitters that evening, without a doubt,” Buttler remarked.
Recalling the game, West Indies chose to field first after winning the toss. The only two English batsmen who stood out during the game were Philip Salt (40 runs from 20 balls) and Jos Buttler (39 runs from 31 balls), who batted first. Their input enabled the opposition to score 171 runs in the opening half. Russell, who took three wickets for just 19 runs, spearheaded the West Indies bowling attack. Alzarri Joseph, in contrast, claimed three wickets in his 3.3 overs, but he also allowed 54 runs to be scored.
In the run chase of 172 runs, West Indies started well after Brandon King (22 runs from 12 balls) and Kyle Mayers (35 runs from 21 balls) set the tone for them. After the collapse of the middle order, the West Indies skipper Rovman Powell (31 runs from 15 balls) stayed at the crease till the end and helped his side clinch a memorable victory. However, Russell (29 runs from 14 balls) again played a pivotal role with the bat and made a solid partnership with his skipper to clinch the win. Rehan Ahmed led the English bowling attack after he scalped three wickets in his four-over spell for 39 runs but failed to defend the target. The four-wicket win in the first T20I match helped the Caribbeans take the early lead in the five-game 20-over format series.
