Sherfane Rutherford came to the crease at the end of the powerplay with West Indies at 55/3 in 6 overs and in a spot of bother. Sherfane Rutherford came, saw and conquered to dazzle under the Wankhede lights as his awesome innings of 76* off 42 balls rescued West Indies from 79/4 in 10 overs to get them to 196/6 in 20 overs. The others played their part with cameos but it was Rutherford show all the way.
For England they bowled decently and kept things under check. Adil Rashid was extra special with his 2/16 in 4 overs making sure that 200 was not reached by West Indies. The others had a mixed bag day and England fielded decently. The match is nicely set up and could go either way from here. Dew could be a factor as well.
England strike thrice to keep West Indies at bay in powerplay.Â
Put into bat first, Brandon King and captain Shai Hope came out to open the batting for West Indies while Jofra Archer had ball in hand for England. Archer gifted 5 wides as a bonus to the batting side. But he got his radar right as he dismissed Hope for a bronze duck slashing it to cover point fielder. Shimron Hetmyer came out to bat next.
Sam Curran came into the attack next and he struck straightaway removing King for 1 off 3 balls as Salt took a good catch in the deep. Roston Chase came out to bat next and got off the mark with a brace. Archer continued as Hetmyer hammered it away over point for a boundary. Chase got into the act as he leaned into the cover drive through extra cover and mid-off for a boundary.
Sam Curran continued as Hetmyer clobbered the ball over midwicket for the maximum. Hetmyer then clipped the ball through long leg region for a boundary. Will Jacks came into the attack and he was taken to the cleaners. Chase first took him on by hitting him for back-to-back boundaries through extra cover and then behind square leg for a boundary. Chase made it a hat-trick of boundaries by pumping it over extra cover for a boundary. Hetmyer pummelled the ball over square leg for the maximum. The 50 came up for West Indies inside 5 overs.
Jamie Overton came into the attack to bowl the last over of powerplay. There was a run out chance which was survived as the throw missed the stumps. Overton broke the budding partnership as he removed Hetmyer for 23 off 12 balls with 2 fours and 2 sixes to his name as the miscue was taken by short fine leg fielder. Drinks was taken at this stage after which Sherfane Rutherford came to the crease. West Indies reached 55/3 in 6 overs with Chase unbeaten on 21 off 17 balls while Rutherford was unbeaten on 0 off 1 ball.
Adil Rashid’s double strike keeps England ahead in middle overs phase.Â
Adil Rashid came into the attack next. He bowled a brilliant first over. Overton continued as Chase whipped the ball away to deep backward square leg for a boundary. Liam Dawson came into the attack next. Chase helped it on its way with a paddle past the keeper for a boundary. Adil Rashid continued and got rid of Chase for 34 off 29 balls with 6 fours to his name as he was pinged in front. Chase reviewed in hope and saw three reds and burnt the review.
Rovman Powell came to the crease next. He got off the mark with a brace as West Indies were 79/4 in 10 overs at the halfway stage of the contest. Dawson continued and bowled a quiet over. Jacks returned to the attack. Rutherford took him on and launched him downtown over the bowler’s head for the maximum. Then he thumped him again over deep midwicket for the maximum.
Jofra Archer came back into the attack. Powell smacked it away over covers for a boundary as the 100 came up for West Indies in 12.2 overs. Rutherford took him on as he slashed hard to Archer as the ball cleared Rashid at deep third man for the maximum. Powell then clipped the ball away through the deep fine leg fence for a boundary. Dawson continued as Rutherford slashed hard to the deep backward point fence. Rutherford pumped Dawson this time down the ground for the maximum. The partnership reached 50 runs between the duo.
West Indies were 127/4 in 14 overs when Drinks was called onto the field, the second Drinks Break of the innings. Adil Rashid continued after the break and he got another wicket as he removed Powell for 14 off 13 balls with 2 fours to his name as the batter tried to go down the ground and the catch was taken at long-off where Overton took the catch. Jason Holder came out to bat next. He got off the mark soon. West Indies were 130/5 in 15 overs with Rutherford batting on 43* off 27 balls while Holder was unbeaten on 1 off 3 balls.
Late Flourish led by Sherfane Rutherford powers West Indies to 196/6.Â
Jamie Overton continued and was hammered by Rutherford as he hit a lucky boundary with the top edge over the keeper for a boundary. Rutherford took the bowling on as he swivelled and pulled it away over deep backward square leg for the maximum. Rutherford got to his fifty in 29 balls. Sam Curran continued as Holder made room to clear his front leg and launched it over long-off for the maximum. Holder hung back and muscled it over long-off for the maximum.
Holder went big again as he pulled it over deep midwicket for the maximum. Rashid continued and put down a tough caught and bowled high catch of his own bowling. Jofra Archer came to bowl now as Holder hit the low full toss to deep point region for a boundary. Rutherford took on Archer and deposited him over deep midwicket for the maximum. Jacob Bethell was running around and hurt himself as well.
Overton came to bowl the final over of the innings. Holder took him on and thumped it over wide long-on for the maximum as this was Holder’s 50th six in T20Is. Overton then got rid of Holder for 33 off 17 balls with one four and 4 sixes to his name as the mistimed pull shot went to Banton at long-on. Romario Shepherd came to the crease and got off the mark as well.
Rutherford finished things off in style as he launched the ball down the ground over long-off for the maximum as West Indies finished with 196/6 in 20 overs. Rutherford was unbeaten on 76 off 42 balls with 2 fours and 7 sixes to his name while Shepherd was unbeaten on 1 off 1 ball. 14 extras given by the fielding side.
Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers with figures of 2/16 in 4 overs. Jamie Overton finished with 2/33 in 4 overs. Jofra Archer finished with 1/48 in 4 overs. Sam Curran finished with 1/36 in 3 overs. Will Jacks gave away 32 runs in 2 overs. Liam Dawson finished with 0/27 in 3 overs. England now needed 197 runs to win the contest off 20 overs.
Who’s Winning, England or West Indies?Â
West Indies thanks to Sherfane Rutherford recovered to post 196/6 in 20 overs. It is a good score, but a flat pitch, fast outfield and potential dew means England will fancy chasing this down. West Indies will need early wickets to contain and stave off England. This could be another interesting thriller.
Let’s see how the second innings pans out for all of us.
Also Read:Â ICC T20 WC 2026: England Make Continuous Inroads Against West Indies