England vs Windies, 3rd ODI: 5 Talking Points

England beat Windies in the third ODI by 124 which was played in County ground at Bristol courtesy Moeen Ali blitz with the bat. The hosts have taken a lead of 2-0 now which has made sure they won’t lose the in the 5-match series. Windies has already lost the chances of qualifying directly to the 2019 World Cup post the defeat in the first game. Chris Gayle is the only batsman who has looked good enough to compete, else all are struggling.

After being sent into the middle after losing the toss, England was rocked early as they lost their top 3 in the first 15 overs. But Joe and Root and Ben Stokes consolidated only for Ali to come and blast the second fastest century ever for England in ODIs. They posted a mountain of 368 runs in their 50 overs. In reply, the visitors threatened only until Gayle was at the crease who was in the mood for a big one today. But others utterly disappointed as they were folded for mere 245 runs with almost 11 overs to spare.

Here we bring you the 5 talking points of the match:

1. England lose top 3 quickly

Windies bowlers had the spring in their stride after opting to bowl first. The skipper Jason Holder led the way as he sent back the in-form Jonny Bairstow early. Root and Alex Hales added some quick runs but they hit back with wickets in successive overs. First Miguel Cummins pinned Hales in front who scores 36 almost at run a ball, then Holder came back to shock the hosts by dismissing his counterpart Eoin Morgan for a golden duck. For a change in the series, England was under pressure with only 74 runs on the board with their top order already back in the hut in the 12th over.

2. Counter-attacking partnership of Root and Ben Stokes

How often has it happened that Ben Stokes has come out in the middle and things have become easy for England suddenly? Today was no different as he walked out to the middle with England 3 down with only 74 on the board. Along with Root, he launched a counterattack on the opposition bowlers which brought his team back on track. Both added 132 runs for the fourth wicket in next overs which set a great platform for the batsmen to come. While Stokes made a superb 73 off just 63 balls, Root was not behind either who scored 84 off 79 cherries.

3. Moeen Ali storm hits the visitors

Moeen Ali, the left-handed batsman strode out with his team struggling to play the full quota of 50 overs. With Chris Woakes to partner, he built a slow but steady partnership first and then launched a brutal assault on Windies bowlers. He smashed the ball around the park and the visitors were left wondering what had hit them. Ali scored the second fastest century ever for England in the 50 over format. An innings of 102 runs off only 57 balls came to an end only after hitting 7 fours and eight gigantic shots over the rope, few of which might have ended on the other ground in the country.

4. Chris Gayle celebrates his belated birthday

Chris Gayle turned 38 on the day when the second ODI was played which he missed and anyway the game was washed out. But he celebrated his birthday a little late while chasing a mammoth total of 368 and kept the hopes of his side alive while he was there. He took a particular liking to the hero of the opposition Moeen Ali and tonked him for 3 back to back sixes in a single over. He kept scoring at a strike rate of more than 100 even as the wickets fell from the other end. Just when it looked like the big man would take the game out of the hands of England, he was run out once again letting himself down yet again while running between the wickets. But he entertained his fans with a belligerent knock of 94 off 78 deliveries which was studded with 9 fours and 8 massive sixes.

5. Liam Plunkett’s five-for seals the game

Windies looked up for a tall chase on a flat deck as Chris Gayle started scoring soon after a few sighters. But Liam Plunkett had other ideas and he picked up a five-wicket haul to take the gas out of the visitors batting line-up. He was the only reason for the middle order collapse and scalped key wickets of Shai Hope, Marlon Samuels, Jason Mohammed. In his next spell, he came back to pick the tail-ender Devendra Bishoo. But the match was fittingly ended as the opposition skipper was sent back off Plunkett’s bowling which capped him a 5-for and the catch was taken by the Man of the Match, Moeen Ali.