England held its nerve in the face of a late assault by Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd to secure a one-run victory over the West Indies in Bridgetown on Sunday and level their five-match T20I series at 1-1.
Chasing 172 to win, West Indies lost seven wickets for 65 runs before big hitting by Hosein (44 n.o., 16b) and Shepherd (44 n.o., 28b) took their team to 170 for eight in 20 overs.
West Indies had needed 30 runs off the final over, bowled by Saqib Mahmood, and Hosein almost got it there by smashing 28, including three sixes off the last three balls.
“I’m delighted, even with the last quarter of the game, these are the games we want to play in, tight games to work on death-hitting and bowling,” England skipper Eoin Morgan said.
“But the majority of the day we adapted well, with more intent and clarity. We need to establish the rhythm of the game, not necessarily fluent partnerships ... dot, dot, dot, wicket, boundary. But we countered what West Indies had to offer.”
England, which scored 103 in its opener, put up a more challenging total on Sunday with Jason Roy scoring 45, while Moeen Ali (31) and Chris Jordan (27) also chipped in.
Moeen later excelled with the ball, bagging three for 24 to choke the West Indies, while Adil Rashid claimed two wickets.
West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard said he was pleased with his team’s effort heading into Wednesday’s game.
“I can see the confidence with the guys in the changing room. We’ll have days like this but my thing is the fight that the guys continue to show,” Pollard said.
The scores: England 171/8 in 20 overs (Jason Roy 45, Moeen Ali 31, Jason Holder 2/25, Fabian Allen 2/50) bt West Indies 170/8 in 20 overs (Romario Shepherd 44 n.o., Akeal Hosain 44 n.o., Adil Rashid 2/24, Moeen 3/24) .
