Watch: Harry Brook’s last-over assault after Phil Salt century scripts England’s crazy T20I win over Windies
England’s seven-wicket victory thus kept the five-match T20I series alive, with the Windies leading 2-1.
Brook’s explosive late innings, featuring 24 runs off the final over, sealed the victory for England. The 24-year-old Yorkshireman secured the win with a six off West Indies bowler Andre Russell over third man.
The visitors required 21 runs in the final over, and Brook delivered by smashing 4, 6, 6, 2, 6 off Andre Russell to win the match for his team.
Before that, Salt score a century off just 56 balls, including four fours and nine sixes.
Although England had a strong start in their pursuit of the 223-run target, a tight bowling spell from West Indies and the dismissal of skipper Jos Buttler momentarily slowed down the run rate, putting the hosts in a favorable position.
However, a spectacular comeback by England, highlighted by Liam Livingstone’s brisk 30 off 18 balls and Brook’s late heroics, secured a remarkable victory for the tourists.
“It feels like it’s been a long time coming in an England shirt,” Salt said of his century. “It’s special to do it today with the series on the line. Brooky came in and played a hell of a knock at the end.”
West Indies seemed poised to secure the series victory, courtesy Nicholas Pooran‘s explosive 82 off 45 balls, rescuing the home side from a shaky start.
Pooran’s stellar performance came in response to England’s early blows, reducing the hosts to 8 for 2 with the dismissals of openers Brandon King and Kyle Mayers.
Pooran’s innings served as the focal point of a sustained middle-order assault, complemented by contributions from Rovman Powell (39), Sherfane Rutherford (29) and Shai Hope (26).
The West Indies middle-order dismissed England bowlers with a breathtaking display of power hitting that resulted in more sixes (16) than boundaries (14).
In an attempt to turn the tide, England made two changes to the side that suffered a 10-run defeat in the second T20I on Thursday, bringing in Reece Topley and Gus Atkinson in place of Rehan Ahmed and Chris Woakes. However, both Topley and Atkinson struggled to make a significant impact with the ball.
While Topley managed an early breakthrough by dismissing Mayers for a duck, he conceded 32 runs from his four overs at an economy rate of eight runs per over. Atkinson, on the other hand, faced a tough time, conceding 33 runs off two overs.
The fourth game of the series is scheduled to take place in Trinidad & Tobago on Tuesday.
Brief Scores:
West Indies 222 for 6 (Pooran 82, Powell 39, Rutherford 29; Ali 1 for 26, Rashid 2 for 32)
England 226 for 3 in 19.5 overs (Salt 109 not out, Buttler 51, Brook 31 not out; Motie 1 for 30, Holder 1 for52)
(With AFP inputs)
