Twitter Reactions: Andre Russell’s all-round show on international comeback orchestrates victory for West Indies in opening T20I

WI vs ENG (Photo Source: Twitter)

The West Indies showed signs of a resurgence as they won the ODI series against England last week. On Wednesday, December 13, Rovman Powell and Co. began the five-match T20I series on a positive note as they defeated England by four wickets at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The hosts won the toss and opted to bowl first. England got off to a fantastic start courtesy of the explosive opening pair of Phil Salt and Jos Buttler. They added 77 runs in the PowerPlay as the West Indies bowlers were staring down the barrel. However, Russell gave his team the crucial breakthrough as he dismissed Salt, who made a blistering 40 off just 20 balls. This dismissal opened the floodgates for England as quite a few batters got starts but couldn’t convert them into anything of substance. Buttler was dismissed in the ninth over by Akeal Hosein, the only spinner in the West Indies line-up.

Cameos from Will Jacks and Liam Livingstone helped the tourists add some crucial runs before they were bowled out for 171 in 19.3 overs. Russell finished with excellent figures of 3/19 in his four overs. Alzarri Joseph also bagged three wickets but conceded 54 runs in 3.3 overs. Romario Shepherd had a fruitful outing with the ball as he bagged a couple of wickets.

In reply, the West Indies openers, Brandon King and Kyle Mayers, got their team off to a flying start. Their 32-run partnership off just 16 balls gave them a nice launchpad. The dangerous left-handed batter amassed four sixes en route to an entertaining 21-ball 35. Vice-captain Shai Hope scored 36 off 30 balls after coming in to bat at No. 3. The trio of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, and Romario Shepherd departed in quick succession as England’s two leg-spinners, Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed brought their team back into the contest.

The onus was on skipper Powell and the experienced Russell to take their team home after joining forces in the 15th over, with the score at 123/6. They added 49 runs in 21 balls to reach the target with 11 balls to spare. Russell finished on 29 off 14 balls, while Powell scored 31 not out off 15 deliveries.

Russell, who played his first international game in over two years, was adjudged Player of the Match for his all-round exploits. The second T20I is scheduled to be played on Thursday, December 14 in St George’s, Grenada.

Here’s how ‘X’ users reacted to Andre Russell’s brilliance and four-wicket win for West Indies: