St John's [Antigua], December 7 : Following his side's loss to England in the second ODI by six wickets, West Indies skipper Shai Hope lauded batter Sherfane Rutherford, saying that he has matured a lot in his craft.
A return to form for bowling all-rounder Sam Curran and skipper Jos Buttler and explosive half-century by opener Will Jacks helped England beat West Indies by six wickets in the second ODI at North Sound by six wickets to level the series on Wednesday night.
"We did not start well. We put ourselves under some pressure. Sherfane played well. We were not smart enough and we didn't finish well. Sherfane has matured a lot as a batter. We hope to get more consistent performances from him. We know we can turn to him to pick up a few wickets for us. Was challenging for the spinners. Never easy under the lights here (bowling). There was a bit of dew. There was belief for the spinners. They did well. We have to win the game to win the series. Need to be ready," said Hope in the post-match presentation.
In the match, WI was asked to bat first by England. After being reduced to 23/4, a 129-run partnership between skipper Shai Hope (68 in 68 balls, with six fours and a six) and Sherfane Rutherford (63 in 71 balls, with seven fours and a six) helped WI make a comeback. But after the breaking of this partnership, another collapse followed, sinking the Men in Maroon to 202/10 in 39.4 overs.
Sam Curran (3/33) and Liam Livingstone (3/39) were the pick of the bowlers for England. Gus Atkinson and teen spinner Rehan Ahmed got two scalps each.
In the chase of 203, Phil Salt (21 in 15 balls, with four boundaries) and Will Jacks stitched a fifty-run opening stand. After some quick wickets, including Jacks for 73 off 72 balls with six fours and four sixes, Buttler along with Brook (43* in 49 balls) helped England to the target with six wickets and over 17 overs left.
Gudakesh Motie (2/34) was the pick of the bowlers for WI.
Curran took home the 'Player of the Match' award. The three-match series is now level at 1-1.
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