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England and West Indies, two of the most entertaining T20 teams in the world, have leveled the five-match series after two games. West Indies defeated the visitors in the first match by nine wickets while England bounced back with a close 1-run victory in the second. The two teams will meet in the third T20 international at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, on January 27.
The second T20I saw some outstanding performances from both sides as England edged past the visitors narrowly. Jason Roy was impressive with his 45 off 31, while Moeen Ali added 31 off 24. Tom Banton and Chris Jordan also made important contributions as England reached 171/8 in 20 overs.
In response, the Windies top order fell apart and were seven down for 65, with Ali and Adil Rashid snaring six wickets. Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein produced a sensational display of power-hitting, aided by some poor bowling, to take the game close.
Shepherd scored 44* off 28 while Hosein hammered 44* off 16 as they blasted 72 runs in the last five overs but unfortunately had too many to get in the last over.
Earlier, in the first T20I, the hosts bundled out England for just 103 on the back of a fine spell by Jason Holder (4 for 7). Brandon King anchored the chase with a fifty to take the team home by nine wickets.
Expect a hard-fought contest in the third T20 international as both teams look to take a crucial 2-1 lead in the series.
Key players
Jason Roy is one of the best pace hitters in the world, and his improved game against spin makes him a nightmare to bowl at. The opening batter has scored 6893 runs in T20 cricket at an average of 28 and a strike rate of 143.
Roy has blasted four hundreds and 46 fifties in this format. He was excellent in the second T20I, smashing a 31-ball 45 after a slow start. Roy will once again be a key factor for England in the batting unit.
Jason Holder offers a great new ball value in T20 cricket and has a lot of batting potential too. The tall right-arm medium pacer has 144 wickets in the format at an economy of 7.71, including four four-fors. He also has 1386 runs to his name but has hardly gotten enough time to bat.
Holder the bowler has been terrific in this series, picking a career-best 4/7 in the first game and following it up with 2/25.
Akeal Hosein has been in superb form in recent times and has worked on his batting as well. The left-arm spinner has 45 wickets to his name in T20 cricket at an excellent 6.24 rpo.
Hosein has been very economical in the series, picking 1 for 16 off four over in the first game and 1 for 15 off three overs in the second. Hosein also hammered 44* off 16 balls in the previous fixture.
Tymal Mills is amongst the best fast bowlers going around in the T20 circuit, having speed and clever variations. The left-arm pacer has snared 175 wickets in the shorter format at a terrific economy of 7.75, mainly bowling difficult overs.
Mills was rested from the second game but should return for this game. He has form and all the tools to make an impact if England bowl first or have enough runs to defend.
Prediction
The overall T20 head to head record between the two sides is in favour of the Windies by 12-9. However, in the last six games, England have claimed five victories. The tracks in the Caribbean are tricky and WI players have more experience here so things even out a bit.
The Windies have outstanding depth in their batting unit, having batters capable of smoking sixes down to the number 10. They have a couple of good new ball bowlers in Holder and Sheldon Cottrell while the SLA spinners have done well.
England are without several of their first-choice players, and the illness of Liam Livingstone further depleted them. Livingstone should be fit for this game. The batting unit so far has been dependent on Roy and Ali. The new ball bowling and the spinners have been good. However, death bowling has been an issue for England for a while. Mills’ return could solve some issues.
It’s hard to predict the outcome with not much to separate the two sides. England will be slight favourite, but the Windies will always be in the game with that depth.
