MUMBAI: Sherfane Rutherford’s brutal unbeaten 76, backed by late hitting from Jason Holder, propelled the West Indies to 196-6 against England in their T20 World Cup clash on Wednesday.
The sixth-wicket pair of Rutherford (76*, seven sixes, two fours) and Holder (33, four sixes, one four) added 61 runs in just 32 balls in the final overs to boost the Caribbean side.
England, who won the toss and elected to field, made one change from their previous game against Nepal, bringing in right-arm pacer Jamie Overton for Luke Wood. West Indies included Roston Chase in place of Matthew Forde.
Jofra Archer struck early when West Indies captain Shai Hope was caught by Tom Banton in the first over. Brandon King followed, holed out to Phil Salt, leaving West Indies at 8-2.
Despite early losses, Chase and Shimron Hetmyer counter-attacked, with Hetmyer hitting a six and Chase three fours in the fifth over. Overton eventually dismissed Hetmyer for 23, and Adil Rashid removed Chase for 34, leaving the West Indies at 77-4 after 10 overs.
Rovman Powell and Rutherford then added 50 runs in 26 balls, taking the team to 127-4 after 14 overs. Powell was later caught by Overton, but Rutherford brought up his fifty in 29 balls, smashing a four and a six off Overton.
Jason Holder’s late fireworks included three sixes off Sam Curran, helping the West Indies reach 196-6. Rashid finished as England’s best bowler with 2-16 from his four overs.