World Cup T20 - West Indies vs England

The Mercurial Windies won the toss & decided to field. A small ground at Wankhade Stadium, Mumbai would have prompted them to do so..... in the end it turned out to be a good decision.

England made a brisk start, racing upto 49 for 1 in the first six overs. The momentum continued as every batsman in, contributed. Cameos by Hales, Root, Butler & Morgan, ensured the England put up a sizable total, scoring 182 for 6 in their 20 overs. Though the Windies pulled back a bit in the middle overs, they went for plenty in the death overs, allowing England to put up a formidable total. It was a workmanlike batting, with some lusty blows towards the end. At some stage it looked like England putting up 200 runs, but finally fell short. 

The Windies reply did not exactly flow, as Charles lost his cool & wicket to an innocuous pull shot in the 1st over itself.

However, big man Gayle & Samuels steadied the innings thereafter, despite Samuels looking rusty at the beginning. Though, Samuels kept the scoring & also kept Gayle away from strike, at the end of 6 overs, it was 55 for 1, he gave it away with a pull shot after getting his eye in & it was 57 for 2. However, Gayle took over from there on & at the end of 10 overs it was 85 for 2. The Super Sopper was used at this stage to negate the dew factor, but Gayle had other ideas. He simply towered over all the bowlers, smacking them all over the park. While, Ramdin & Bravo perished in between for not too many, England were blown away by a Gayle storm. When in flow, he is such an entertainment & his century came in just 47 deliveries, bludgeoning 11 sixes & 5 fours, as the Windies won the game comfortably by six wickets, with 11 balls to spare. For Gayle, it was a day of records, as he went past Brendon McCullum to hit the maximum sixes in T20, & hitting his second T20 century. 

This Windies team has all the fire power, at least in batting to reach at least the semis & may be the dark horse to go the distance gain. If Gayle gets due support from the likes of Samuels, Bravo, Russell & Sammy, they might be bale to negate the absence of Narine & Pollard. 

Looking forward.......