Lauren Bell continued her form with a four-wicket haul that helped England defeat West Indies by 49 runs as Three Lions bowled host for 83 in the fourth match of the five-game T20I series.
Put to bowl first, West Indies bowlers did a good job of setting up the match by holding England to 131 for eight. At the midway point, England was poised for 160 or thereabouts, so it was a very outstanding effort. But in the 11th over, after being reduced to 73 for 2, they lost three wickets for no runs in the course of four deliveries, giving West Indies a chance to go on the board.
Much of this harm was caused by the dismissal of Sophia Dunkley, Maia Bouchier, and Heather Knight by the seamer Cherry-Ann Fraser. England was in trouble at 82 for 6 when offspinner Sheneta Grimmond eliminated Amy Jones in the 14th over. However, late appearances from Katherine Brunt and Charlie Dean propelled them to a score of 131 for 8. For the ninth wicket, the pair put up 44 runs, giving England a total to defend.
The highest score for England was 35, while Brunt's unbeaten 20-ball 24 came at position eight. Nat Sciver and Jones failed to build on their early success, being out after 15 and 21 runs, respectively, while Dean, batting at No. 9, made 20 runs before being out on the final pitch of the inning.
Chasing a target of 132 runs, West Indies lost Aaliyah Alleyne and Rashada Williams to Lauren Bell in the first over, things didn't go well. The skipper Hayley Matthews and Shemaine Campbelle appeared to be working together. Before offspinner Dean returned Campbelle, the pair combined 40 runs in only 4.3 overs to turn the tables on England.
As Dean and Sophie Ecclestone went on to take three more wickets between them, that marked the beginning of West Indies' struggles against spin. In the 16th over, Bell, who had started the top order collapse, came back to end the game by taking the wickets of Grimmond and Kaysia Schultz.
After their bowlers held England to 131, West Indies' batters failed in a chase for the third straight game.
( With inputs from ANI )
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