Chennai, March 17: England kept their hopes of a quarter-final berth alive by inflicting a dramatic 18-run defeat on West Indies in a Group B 2011 ICC World Cup encounter. The match was played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk, Chennai.
Earlier, England captain Andrew Strauss won the toss and opted to bat first. The West Indies’ bowlers managed to keep the England batsmen under check right from the beginning. Pacer Andre Russell bowled exceedingly well taking 4/49 while legbreak bowler, Devendra Bishoo, took three important wickets to deny England the opportunity of putting up a big total.
However, with Struass (31), Jonathan Trott (47) and Luke Wright (44) putting in some effective contributions the England innings finished at the respectable score of 243 in 48.4 overs.
West Indies, led by Chris Gayle at the top of the order, began the run chase in style. Gayle blitzed his way to a 21-ball knock of 43 that included eight fours and one six. But England came back strongly with the introduction of James Tredwell into the attack. The offspinner removed Gayle (43), Devon Smith (10) and Darren Bravo (5) to leave the West Indies tottering at 91 for three. And when Ravi Bopara followed with two wickets and Graeme Swann got rid of the dangerous Kieron Pollard (24), England were well on top with the West Indies score reading 150 for six in 27.4 overs.
A 72-run partnership followed between Ramnaresh Sarwan (31) and Andre Russell (49) that kept West Indies in the hunt. But when Tredwell trapped Russell lbw and Sarwan fell to Swann in the space of 12 deliveries, England managed to counter the West Indies challenge. From a score of 222 for six, West Indies were bowled out for a score of 225, falling 18 runs short of the victory target.
While the win keeps England’s chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals very much alive, they would also be hoping for at least one of Bangladesh or West Indies to lose their last Group game, so that their path to the quarters is sealed.
Brief scores: England 243 all out in 48.4 overs (Jonathan Trott 47, Luke Wright 44, Andre Russell 4/49, Devendra Bishoo 3/34) beat West Indies 225 all out in 44.4 overs (Andre Russell 49, Chris Gayle 43, James Tredwell 4/48, Graeme Swann 3/36) by 18 runs
Man-of-the-match: James Tredwell for his bowling figures of 10-2-48-4 which brought about the West Indies batting collapse.
