West Indies vs England: Brandon King, Rovman Powell propel host to 2-0 lead in T20I series

Brandon King scored an unbeaten 82 and skipper Rovman Powell blasted a quickfire 50 as West Indies defeated England by 10 runs to take a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-five T20I series in Grenada on Thursday. West Indies opener King produced a superb knock which included eight fours and five sixes from 52 balls as the hosts recovered from a perilous 54-4 to finish on 176-7 at the National Stadium in St. George’s. England, who won the toss and opted to bowl first, were restricted to 166-7 in response after a disciplined bowling performance by the hosts. Sam Curran top-scored for the tourists with 50 off 32 balls, but England were always struggling to reach the required run rate against the West Indies bowling. Alzarri Joseph finished with figures of 3-39 off four overs, while spinner Gudakesh Motie frustrated England’s batsmen with an economical 1-9 from four overs. “I think it was important having lost so many early wickets that I stayed as deep as possible into the innings,” man-of-the-match King said afterwards. “It was very important for me to stay there and build partnerships. We’re playing well and everyone’s playing with confidence. They might not have got runs today but another day it will be another guy.” England captain Jos Buttler, meanwhile, was left to rue the explosive latter part of the West Indies innings after a positive start by the tourists bowlers. “It was a few many runs more than we could have restricted them to,” Buttler said. “They had a couple of big overs at the back end which pushed the score up, but only losing by 10 – there’s plenty of ways we can find those 10 runs.” Earlier, King’s unbeaten knock received support from Powell, who caught the eye with a swashbuckling cameo that helped West Indies post a competitive total. The West Indies captain’s half century came off just 28 balls and included five sixes and three fours. The highlight of Powell’s knock came in the 16th over, with Powell mauling Curran for 30 runs which included four sixes. Adil Rashid was the pick of the England bowlers with figures of 2-11 off four overs. West Indies lead the five-match series 1-0 after beating England by four wickets in the opening T20 in Barbados on Tuesday. The third match of the series takes place in Grenada on Saturday. Brief scores West Indies: 176-7 in 20 overs (B. King 82 not out, R. Powell 50, K. Mayers 17; A. Rashid 2-11, T. Mills 2-30) England: 166-7 in 20 overs (S. Curran 50, P. Salt 25, W. Jacks 24; A. Joseph 3-39, A. Hosein 2-24) Result: West Indies won by 10 runs Series: West Indies lead best-of-five series 2-0