Salt Storm Blows Away West Indies, England Sends a Message

In a crucial T20 World Cup match, England took a significant step towards the semifinals by crushing the West Indies after narrowly making it to the Super 8 stage. Chasing a target of 181 set by the West Indies, England surpassed it with 8 wickets in hand and 15 balls to spare at the Darren Sammy Stadium in Saint Lucia. With this dominant victory against the hosts, the reigning champions sent a strong message to their competitors.

Winning the toss, the West Indies opted to bat first on Thursday. Opener Brandon King retired hurt at a team score of 40 and a personal score of 23. Following this, Johnson Charles and Nicholas Pooran formed a sluggish partnership, scoring just 74 runs off 66 balls. Despite scoring 54 runs in the powerplay, they managed only 63 runs in the next 8 overs.

Towards the end, Rovman Powell accelerated the scoring with a rapid batting display, hitting three sixes off Liam Livingstone in the 15th over. Powell was eventually dismissed by Livingstone for 36 runs off 17 balls. Following him, Sherfane Rutherford added a quick 28 runs off 15 balls. West Indies ended their innings at 180 runs in 20 overs.

For England, Jofra Archer, Liam Livingstone, Moeen Ali, and Adil Rashid each took a wicket.

In the chase, English openers Jos Buttler and Phil Salt amassed 58 runs during the powerplay. The partnership was broken at 67 runs when off-spinner Roston Chase dismissed Buttler. Moeen Ali came in to bat at one-down but couldn't contribute significantly. Phil Salt reached his fifty off 38 balls.

An unbeaten partnership of 97 runs off 44 balls between Salt and Jonny Bairstow sealed England's victory. Bairstow was aggressive from the start, scoring 48 runs off 26 balls. In the 16th over, bowled by Romario Shepherd, Salt smashed 30 runs. England reached the target with 15 balls to spare, losing only 2 wickets. Salt remained unbeaten with 87 runs off 47 balls.

Andre Russell and Roston Chase took the two wickets for West Indies. Phil Salt was named Player of the Match for his 87-run performance.