England v West Indies World T20: 5 Talking Points of the match

Chris Gayle scored a truly magnificent 100 from just 48 balls to steer West Indies to a convincing 6 wicket win over England at the Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai. Chasing a challenging target of 183 runs, West Indies batsmen looked little off color today and none of them could do anything much significant. However, the team actually faced no troubles due to the hitting prowess of the Jamaican Giant. Earlier, batting first, England scored a formidable 182/6 in 20 overs. The English batsmen did a commendable job and collective ensured that they put up a good total in front of the dangerous Windies side. Joe Root top scored for them with 48 runs off 36 deliveries. Jos Buttler (30 from 20 balls) and skipper Eoin Morgan (27 from 14 balls) also made highly valuable contributions.

1. Joe Root defines class:

Joe Root yet again proved why he is a man of all seasons for England. The right-hander came in after the fall of Jason Roy. Root began cautiously for a couple of overs but began to open his arms. He along with Hales took care that the runs keep coming at a brisk pace. Root stitched a fluent 55 runs stand for the 3rd wicket before Hales departed in the 12th over. Root continued with his excellence, however. But, the 15th oversaw his downfall as he was caught by Taylor off Jerome Taylor’s bowling. He went back to the dugout for a well made 48 off just36 balls, unfortunately missing out on a half-century.

2. Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan play finishers:

Joe Root and Alex Hales had played well and set the stage for a big score. New batsmen Jos Buttler and Eoin Morgan came at the crease and performed their role perfectly. They played to their reputation and scored runs at a quick rate to give the final push to the England total. Both made 38 runs off just 3.3 overs, striking runs at a rate of over 10 runs per over. The small yet valuable partnership was brought to an end after Buttler (30 from 20 balls) departed in the 18th over off Dwayne Bravo’s bowling. Skipper Morgan (27 from 14 balls), however, did not let his wicket go down and batted till the end.

3. Gayle storm in Mumbai:

The biggest trump card in the chase for West Indies was Chris Gayle. Any target seemed to be achievable in the presence of the Jamaican giant. The left-hander just did the things for which he is reputed for in the cricket world. Gayle opened the innings and batted throughout the 20 overs to completely deflate the English bowlers, ending with 100 runs from just 48 balls. His knock was laced with 5 crunch boundaries and world record 11 sixes including 3 in 3 balls in the 14th over. This also happens to be the 12th time when Gayle has hit 10 or more sixes in an innings.

4. England bowlers clobbered:

England bowlers begun well and controlled the first half. The Brits tasted their first success in the first over itself after David Willey snapped up Johnston Charles for a duck. Gayle kept scoring at brisk rate from one end but English bowlers kept things tight from the other end. However, the game turned upside down over its head when Gayle began to open his arms. The end result of his onslaught was that no bowler except Chris Jordan (6.00) and Moeen Ali (9.50) could return with an economy rate of under 10 runs an over. David Willey (11.00) Reece Topley (10.15), Ben Stokes (14.00) and Adil Rashid (10.00) all faced the heat from the Jamaican master blaster.

5. A message to the teams:

West Indies came in as the dark horse of the tournament and this thumping win has just gives a warning signal for the other competing teams. West Indies, the 2012 edition champions, gave a perfect start to the tournament. The rest of the unit might have done below par according to their standards but this winning start would certainly boost their morale. Chris  Gayle, in particular, just delivered a strong message by making the Brits dance to the Calypso tunes.