Mumbai: Sherfane Rutherford blazed to his fifty off 29 balls and shared two half-century partnerships as he helped West Indies recover from early jolts to post a challenging 196/6 in 20 overs against England in Match 15 of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.
In the clash between two-time champions, West Indies had slumped to 8/2 in the second over and were 77/4 at the halfway stage before Rutherford smashed an unbeaten 76 off 42 balls (2×4, 7×6) and with help from Chase (34) and Holder (33) helped them set a challenging target for England, whom they had defeated in the final of the 2016 edition in Chennai.
On a pitch with a bit of green tinge and on which the ball was gripping, England made a good start after skipper Harry Brook elected to field first as both Jofra Archer and Sam Curran struck in their first over. Archer, who bowled three wides in a wayward first over, found his range on the fifth delivery to have West Indies skipper Shai Hope (0 off 3) drilling straight into Tom Banton’s hands a short widish delivery for a soft dismissal.
Curran got Brandon King off his first delivery of the match, as the batter lashed at a short widish one and was caught by a diving Phil Salt near the fence at deep point. West Indies were reduced to 8/2 in the second over.
Roston Chase (34), brought into the match in place of Matthew Forde, and Shimron Hetmyer (23) provided the West Indies some relief with a 47-run partnership for the third wicket. Hetmyer struck Curran a four and six off successive balls while Chase hammered a hat-trick of fours off Will Jacks in the fifth over as the West Indies batters did not slacken on the scoring rate.
But just when it looked like the West Indies had turned the tide, Jamie Overton, who was brought in place of Luke Wood, sent back Hetmyer (23, 12 b, 2×4, 2×6), frustrated by the hard length as he offered Curran a simple catch off a slower one that steepled off the pitch.
Roston Chase followed suit soon, trapped lbw off a googly by Adil Rashid for 34 (29b, 6×4) as West Indies fell to 77/4. Sherfane Rutherford took over the charge from there and figured in two crucial partnerships — 51 runs for the fifth wicket with Rovman Powell (14) and another half-century stand for the sixth wicket with Jason Holder.
Rutherford raced to his fifty off 29 balls (2×4, 5×6) as he went after the bowling — hitting sixes off Archer, Jacks (back to back in 12th over), Overton and Dawson as he kept the West Indies on course for a challenging total.
He and Holder added 61 runs for the sixth wicket, Holder contributing 33 off 17 balls (1×4, 4×6). Holder, the seasoned all-rounder, blasted three sixes off Curran as they smashed 20 runs in the 17th over. He was out in the final over, caught at long on off Overton after he had smashed another six off Overton with a lofted drive over wide long-on.
Rutherford, who was dropped by Rashid off his own bowling, struck Archer for a six and four in the 18th over before blasting a six off Overton in the last ball of the innings to help West Indies recover to post a challenging total.
Adil Rashid was the best bowler for England with mesmerising figures of 2-16 in four overs. Overton too bagged a brace (2-33) while Archer and Curran were slightly expensive in claiming a wicket each.
Brief scores:
West Indies 196/6 in 20 overs (Sherfane Rutherford 76 not out, Roston Chase 34, Jason Holder 33; Adil Rashid 2-16, Jamie Overton 2-33) against England
(IANS)
