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Whoever had advised “don’t answer back” had
never been passed up for a fat salary or encountered Phil Salt’s
aggressiveness. Resuming where his unbeaten century in the third match had kept
England alive in this series, Salt responded to his IPL auction snub by
thrashing a 57-ball 119 to set West Indies an intimidating mark of 268 if they
wanted to finish it immediately. They were unable to, losing by 75 runs in
Taruouba as England levelled the score at 2-2, arranging a match that will take
place at the same venue on Thursday.
Jos Buttler, the captain of England, lost the toss and
said he would have preferred to pursue as well. However, he and Salt
collaborated for a second century opening stand in a row, which helped England
reach 267 for 3, the second-highest score by a Full Member nation in Twenty20
Internationals. Salt achieved England’s highest individual T20I score when he
hit his century off just 48 balls. After Buttler was knocked out for
fifty-five, he found willing partners in Will Jacks and Liam Livingstone, who
each reached an undefeated fifty-five.
33 sixes were struck in an intriguing match—the
third-most in men’s T20Is—with Nicholas Pooran scoring four and Andre Russell
scoring five, but even their combined total fell short of Salt’s ten. Within 16
overs, their team was bowled out, with Reece Topley collecting three wickets,
Sam Curran taking two, and Rehan Ahmed grabbing one wicket each.
After hitting an undefeated 109 off 56 balls in the
previous game, Salt continued where he left off. Once Buttler was out, Salt
just kept going, hitting three consecutive sixes off the opening of Sherfane
Rutherford’s lone over. Jacks maintained a steady pace with his partner, and
they both muscled their stand to 55 off 19 balls, helping England surpass the
150-mark with a reverse sweep for four and a casual six over backward square
leg off Hosein. Three balls later, on 56, Jacks was pinned leg before wicket by
Hosein following a nine-ball 24. Upon mentioning his century, Salt ripped off
his helmet and let out a loud cry into the sky, making history as the second
from a Full Member nation – and third in all – to register back-to-back
hundreds in T20Is.
After being hit by a ball on the knee while fielding
early in England’s innings, Brandon King was reportedly sent for X-rays.
However, he later returned to begin the batting but was dismissed first ball
due to an obviously aggressive mindset. In an attempt to mimic a Moeen Ali
delivery, he could only muster a top edge that ended up in the palms of a
diving Topley at short third.
After hitting 20 off the final four balls of the over,
Pooran produced a massive 93-meter six over deep midwicket. Before Chris Woakes
held Kyle Mayers’ second grab at midwicket, Topley gave up 12 runs in the
following over.
Harry Brook produced a brilliant catch, racing in from
far on and leaping forwards to hang on to one shot high in the air off Curran,
and Pooran fell for an amazing 39 off 15.
West Indies
were 87 for 4 at the end of the powerplay, and Rutherford appeared ready to go
all out. In Rehan’s opening over, he struck three straight fours to propel the
West Indies to 100 runs in the seventh over.
As England went back to seam, Curran got rid of Hosein
and Buttler, fielded at cover, and took a straightforward catch off Topley’s
bowl to remove Forde, who had made his debut when the West Indies won 2-1 in
the ODI part of England’s tour. When Brook misplayed the ball just inside the
rope at long-off, Russell continued to show no mercy, hitting a 108-meter six
off Topley to get within one boundary of his fifty. However, it was all over
when he holed out to Brook on the following ball.