MUMBAI: Of late, off-spinner Gudakesh Motie has become West Indies' primary spinner irrespective of the formats. Against Scotland in the opener, he bowled a tight spell choking opponents for runs. But Shimron Hetmyer with his blazing fifty and Romario Shepherd with his five-wicket haul that included a hat-trick walked away with all limelight.
However, Wednesday was Motie's day as he derailed England's chase during West Indies' second Group C match, claiming wickets of Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell and captain Harry Brook. In the end, England fell short by 30 runs at the Wankhede Stadium, the venue where West Indies defeated them in their opener of the 2016 T20 World Cup before going on to win the title beating them once again under Darren Sammy, now coach of the team, for the second time.
England were cruising at 85/2 in the seventh over when Motie struck in his first over. In the next over, he had Bethell and then sent back Brook to reduce England to 131/5 inside 14 overs. Offie Roston Chase bowled in tandem as he also walked away with two wickets to tighten West Indies' grip on the match.
Earlier, West Indies lost their both openers - Brandon King and captain Shai Hope - in the first two overs but in-form Shimron Hetmyer and Chase ensured the run rate did not dip. Jamie Overton, however, had Chase in the penultimate delivery of the sixth over to reduce the two-time winners to 55/3. It was then Rutherford, who walked in. Given the condition they were in, he, along with Chase played cautiously adding 22 runs from the next 21 balls. Chase, however, was undone by an almost unplayable googly from Rashid as West Indies lost their fourth wicket inside 10 overs with only 77 on the board.
With Rashid keeping it tight and Harry Brook's men slowly taking control of the match, Rutherford decided to take on the bowlers and he found an able ally in form of Powell, who was more than happy to give strike to the former. In the next 29 balls, the duo added 51 runs with the left-hand Rutherford being the aggressor.
Post Powell's departure, Jason Holder hammered a 17-ball 33 to take West Indies to close to 190. Fittingly enough, Rutherford finished the innings with a huge six, remaining unbeaten on 76 off only 42 balls. The innings, which was laced with two fours and seven sixes, helped the team post 196/6 in 20 overs.
Rashid's show
Against Nepal on Sunday (February 8), England leg-spinner Adil Rashid was plundered by the batters as he gave away 42 runs from his three overs. Such was the onslaught that Rashid didn't complete his quota of four overs.
Before that, Rashid had gone wicketless in June 2024 in England's T20 World Cup match against Namibia in Antigua and Barbuda. Since then he has played 24 matches and picked at least a wicket in each of them.
With the tournament happening in India and Sri Lanka, Rashid is considered England's trump card with surfaces in the sub-continent assisting spinners. However, that hammering from Nepal batters was bound to affect any bowler's morale and draw attention of all and sundry.
Former captain Jos Buttler was questioned regarding Rashid's not-so-impressive show after the match but he shrugged off the concern saying Rashid would be least bothered. "I don't think he'll be too bothered, he's a great bowler - he's been a great bowler for a long time, but the opposition need to find a way to deal with those bowlers and they attacked him and played him really well, but he's been brilliant for a long time and it's part of team play, right?," Buttler said.
The wicketkeeper-batter was spot-on as Rashid didn't look bothered at all when England took on West Indies in their Group C match at the Wankhede Stadium on Wednesday. With others around him going for a plenty of runs, the 37-year-old from Bradford, Yorkshire kept the Windies batters on toes not letting them free their hands. He first sent back Roston Chase with a well-flighted delivery dipping outside off before thudding on the batter's pad. A review also couldn't save Chase and with it Rashid completed 400 wickets in all T20s.
Rovman Powell was his next victim as he took pace off delivery. Rashid almost had the third wicket but he could not hold on to a chance offered by Sherfane Rutherford. Notwithstanding the missed chances, he finished with impressive figures of 2/16 from his four overs burying the demons of the past match. At a time when Holder was dealing in sixes, he hoodwinked the batter in his final over with fuller deliveries landing them just outside off before they spun into the keeper's gloves. That over yielded five runs. It could have also yielded a wicket but Rashid was least bothered.
Brief scores: WI 196/6 in 20 ovs (Rutherford 76, Chase 34, Holder 33; Rashid 2/16, Overton 2/33) bt England 166 in 19 ovs (Curran 43 n.o, Bethell 33; Motie 3/33).