West Indies followed up their ODI success with victory in the final T20 against England to wrap up a 3-2 series win.
England had momentum heading into the clash in Tarouba after winning games three and four to draw level.
Their batting brilliance in the previous two games deserted them, as England were bundled out for 132 and West Indies chased the target down with four balls to spare.
West Indies won the toss and captain Rovman Powell had no hesitation in electing to bowl, and it proved a wise decision.
Phil Salt went into the final match of the series on the back of knocks of 109 and 119, and he set off at a rate of knots.
After seeing Jos Buttler (11 off 11 balls) and Will Jacks (7 off 5) depart, Salt took the attack to the West Indies bowlers.
He hit one six and five fours and looked primed to cut loose when he was bowled by a beauty from Gudakesh Motie which pitched on middle, straightened and clipped the top of middle stump.
The celebrations highlighted the quality of the delivery and the importance of getting the in-form Salt for 38 off 22 balls.
Harry Brook joined Salt in a brilliant partnership to lead England to victory in the third T20, but he never got going and gloved an attempted sweep off Motie and was pouched by wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran for a six-ball seven.
Brook’s departure left England in a hole at 70-4, but Liam Livingstone and Moeen Ali set about a rebuild. They had lifted the tourists to 110-4 when Ali fell to a brilliant piece of fielding from Andre Russell and Powell.
Ali (23 off 21) thought he had hoisted Akeal Hosein over the boundary, but Russell made up superb ground to take it on the full before flicking it to Powell to complete the catch.
Akeal Hosein of West Indies celebrates getting the wicket of Will Jacks
Image credit: Getty Images
Motie got his third wicket of the innings when taking a simple caught and bowled to remove Livingstone (28 off 29) to leave England tottering on 121-6 off 16.3 overs.
Fresh from his brilliance in the field, Russell produced a moment of magic with the ball – a perfect yorker – to knock over Chris Woakes’ (2 off 6) off stump and one ball later pulled off an amazing caught and bowled to send Rehan Ahmed back for a golden duck.
England’s innings ended in a whimper, as Adil Rashid (1 off 1) was run out and Sam Curran (12 off 15) picked out Sherfane Rutherford at long-off from the bowling of Jason Holder as they were dismissed for 132 – the lowest first-innings total in T20 internationals at the Brian Lara Academy Stadium.
England required early inroads with the ball, and Reece Topley and Woakes removed Brandon King (3 off 5) and Pooran (10 off 6) respectively.
Rashid is the No. 1 bowler in the world in T20 cricket, and he got a wicket with one of his worst deliveries for some time as Johnson Charles (27 off 22) slapped a full toss to Buttler at cover and he took an excellent low catch.
Rutherford added some momentum to the innings with 30 off 24 balls before becoming Rashid’s second victim, but he departed with West Indies requiring 38 at a tick over a run a ball.
Shai Hope was the glue that held the West Indies innings together, and he got them within sight of victory.
With nine needed off the final over, Holder scrambled a three off the first ball and Hope (43 off 43) cleared the fence at cover off the following ball to lead his side to victory.
TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing, NBA and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media.
>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : Eurosport.co.uk – https://www.eurosport.com/cricket/shai-hope-delivers-with-the-bat-as-west-indies-beat-england-to-secure-t20-series-win_sto9932246/story.shtml