MUMBAI: Sherfane Rutherford (76 not out) led the way with a blistering half-century as the West Indies recovered well from an ordinary start to post a formidable 196/6 against England in their Group C contest of the T20 World Cup here on Wednesday.
Rutherford smacked seven sixes and two boundaries to make 76 not out off 42 balls, resurrecting a faltering innings for the Caribbean side that had crawled to an ordinary 79 for four halfway through on what remained a true batting wicket.
As many as 117 runs came in the final 10 overs as the left-handed Rutherford put on 51 runs for the fifth wicket with Rovman Powell (14), and added another 61 runs off only 32 balls for the sixth with former skipper Jason Holder (33 off 17 balls; 1x4s, 4x6s).
While Rutherford was the top-scorer, the Caribbean side was also well served by Test skipper Roston Chase (34) at No.4 when they were going through a lull, and towards the end, Holder's hit three sixes in an over from Sam Curran.
Holder used the long handle to good effect and took some pressure off Rutherford, who was given a lifeline by Adil Rashid (2/16) in the 18th over of the innings.
To his credit, Rashid bounced back strongly after being hammered around the park by Nepal in the last game.
He bowled four measly overs in stand-alone spells while generated sharp turn which kept the batters guessing, and accounted for Chase with a wrong'un and Powell.
The West Indies made a poor start slipping to 8/2 even as Jofra Archer (1/48) struggled for control in his first over.
Skipper Shai Hope smashed it straight to Tom Banton at cover point off Archer and Sam Curran (1/36) had Brandon King caught by the sweeper cover in the next.
Chase tried to turn around the fortunes for his side when he smashed three consecutive fours off Will Jacks in the fifth over and Shimron Hetmyer hit a six.
But West Indies' innings struggled for momentum throughout the first half.
Jamie Overton (2/33), brought into the side to extract bounce off the surface, outsmarted the in-form Hetmyer (23) with a few fuller deliveries followed by one slow and short ball.
Hetmyer looked hurried as the ball took the top edge and flew to the short fine-leg, where Curran completed an easy catch.
Before he fell, the left-handed No.3 had hit a couple of sixes and fours each, including one against Curran's talked-about 'Moon Ball'.