West Indies 196 for 6 (Rutherford 76*, Chase 34, Rashid 2-16) beat England 166 (Curran 43*, Motie 3-33, Chase 2-29) by 30 runs
But the walls closed in on them as soon as West Indies turned to spin. Motie and Roston Chase dovetailed magnificently through the middle overs for combined figures of 5 for 62 in eight, which became 6 for 94 in 12 when Akeal Hosein ended what he had begun by picking off England’s seventh wicket – Jamie Overton – in the covers.
Jofra Archer’s dawdling run-out by a Jason Holder direct hit epitomised an England performance that had run out of road, long before Sam Curran was left high and dry on 43 not out, with Chase’s tumbling catch at deep square leg off Rashid being a fitting way to cap a fine personal display. Having edged over the line against Nepal in their previous game, England’s impressive run of 11 wins in 12 T20Is came to a shuddering halt, and against a familiar World Cup nemesis.
West Indies on the ropes early
With the 7pm start and heavy prospect of dew, England seemed to have stolen a march by getting the chance to bowl first. Archer, pumped up but erratic, touched 148kph in an opening over that included seven runs in wides, but a wicket as well, as Shai Hope rocked back to slam a cut to deep cover. Curran then made it 8 for 2 after seven legal deliveries, as Brandon King picked out deep point with a similar launch for the stands.
But, almost before they could cement their early advantage, England had it ripped clean from them. In his second over, Curran beat Shimron Hetmyer with a slower ball, then attempted a repeat dose and got smoked through midwicket for six. And Will Jacks, such a threat on Sri Lanka’s spinning decks last week, proved meat and drink with the field up for the powerplay. His loose first over was picked off for 19, including Hetmyer’s second six, high over backward square.
Rashid’s redemption
It takes more than one bad day for England to lose faith in their one-day trump card. Rashid’s habitual entry at the end of the powerplay came with the baggage of his brutal treatment against Nepal. But in his three-run opening over, he showcased a ripping legbreak to Chase and a skidding googly past Rutherford’s edge, and from that moment on, West Indies had no option but to treat him with utter deference, seeing him off in a boundary-less four-over spell.
Brook stretched his impact as far as he could dare, first through a change of ends while Jamie Overton’s heavy lengths – deemed surplus against Nepal – helped to keep a lid on West Indies’ progress. His initial return, for the tenth over, delivered the wicket of Chase for 33 from 29, nailed on the back leg by a wonderful ripping googly, while his two overs were held way back, until the 16th and 18th overs, with Rovman Powell’s miscued slog to long-off capping fabulous final figures of 2 for 16.
Rutherford picks his moments
As Rashid inadvertently showed in his final over, when dropping Rutherford’s steepling slog across the line on 56, his personal match-up against West Indies’ key man was extremely favourable – and ten balls for ten runs continued that trend.
The trouble was coming at the other end, with England unable to contain a typical West Indies pain-train acceleration, particularly when Rutherford found – in Holder – the ideal long-levered sidekick to clear the Wankhede’s tight boundaries. Jacks returned for a second over but was monstered over the leg-side for back-to-back sixes; Archer’s third was dispatched for 17, including another six for Rutherford that Rashid at deep third parried onto the rope.
Holder got in on the act with four sixes as their stand gathered momentum into the back of a toiling innings, and though he holed out to Overton for 33 from 17 in the final over, Rutherford nailed his seventh six over long-on to close out the innings in style. Without Rashid, England might have been chasing 220. Even with him, West Indies’ outscored England by 13 sixes to six. It was a very throwback means to make the difference.
Salt assault threatens briefly
Had he carried on as he’d begun, it might have been a different tale. But he couldn’t, as Romario Shepherd’s harder length cramped his advances for a 14-ball 30. Even so, Jacob Bethell’s left-handedness unlocked the angles against Hosein’s cramping spin, and when Jos Buttler capped a 67-run powerplay with a square-driven four off Shamar Joseph, England seemed very much in control.
Chase and Motie throttle the middle overs
Buttler’s first six, from his 13th ball, looked like being the moment that his innings would go into overdrive. Instead, Chase challenged him to repeat his stroke with another determined offbreak on a good length, and long-on was waiting to spring the trap, with Buttler’s 21 leaving him just shy of his 4,000th T20I run.
Enter Motie, an unassuming nemesis maybe, but a player who has seen plenty of this England line-up over the past two years, and whose left-arm spin found just enough purchase amid the rising dew to scupper England’s bid to keep their tempo high.
His spell was not perfect: in particular, his change-up legbreak proved an erratic option, but two balls after Bethell had clubbed a full-toss over midwicket, Tom Banton was picked off at short covers as he failed to time his drive.
One over later, Bethell’s promising stay was done in by Motie’s skiddy line from over the wicket, as he was beaten for pace off the wicket to lose his off stump for 33, and as he bowled his four overs off the reel between overs eight and 14, Motie signed off with the biggest remaining fish. Harry Brook had played within himself for a 14-ball 17, biding his time for the big finish, but he fell within himself too; a tame prod looping back to the bowler to cap a killer spell of 3 for 33.
It wasn’t entirely clear who had been slipstreaming who. But by the end of his four overs, Chase’s figures were even more frugal, 2 for 29, with Jacks’ poor day ending with plumb lbw for 2. England’s lack of bowling partnerships was glaring in the final analysis. It makes their Kolkata Cup clash with Scotland on Saturday all the more compelling.
Andrew Miller is UK editor of ESPNcricinfo. @miller_cricket