ICC T20 World Cup: West Indies loses first Super 8 match against England by 8 wickets

West Indies: West Indies lost the first match in the Super 8 stage of the ongoing ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 against England by eight wickets. The match was held at Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, Saint Lucia on Wednesday.

In the run chase, England batsmen turned out to be tough for Windies bowlers, marking an efficient start for the Super 8 stage in Group 2. Notably, the toss was won by England who chose to bowl first, sending Windies to the field for batting at their home ground.

With the help of earlier cameos from Nicholas Pooran, Rovamn Powell, Johanson Charles and Sherfane Rutherfood, Windies have reached a competent target of 181 runs for Jos Butler’s England team.

The first wicket of Johnson Charles who made 38 runs off 34 deliveries was taken by Moen Ali of England who played two overs with 15 runs and one 1 wicket. Skipper Rovman Powell showcased classic form at Daren Sammy with 36 runs off 17 deliveries, however, he was sent back to the pavilion by Liam Livingstone which turned out to be an important wicket for England.

Nicholas Pooran also led West Indies to a competent score with 36 runs off 32 deliveries and lost his wicket to Adil Rashid. With the loss of four wickets, West Indies have made 180 runs and tried to restrict England to chase down the score.

However, the inning of 87 runs of Phil Salt and a cameo from Jonny Bairstow with 48 runs have led England to win the first Super 8 stage match. Skipper Jos Butler made 25 runs and contributed efficiently to the chasing of the team along with Moen Ali who made 13 runs.

With the victory, England turned out to be the first winner of the Super 8 stage with up-down form at the group stage. On the contrary, West Indies have secured historic 4 victories in the group stage and lost the first match of Super 8 which will determine their position in the semi-final round.

The matches of the Super 8 stage kickstarted on Thursday with the first match between the United States and South Africa at Saint Lucia. South Africa won their first match of the Super 8 by 18 runs by setting the target of 194 for the USA.

The third match of the Super 8 will be held today at Kensington Oval Cricket Stadium, Barbados between India and Afghanistan. It is the match of Group 1 and the victory will determine their points.

Notably, all matches of the Super 8 stages, semi-finals, and finals will now be held in the Caribbean countries till June 29, 2024.