West Indies Boosted by Record 72-Run Stand for Ninth Wicket, but Still Lose to England By One run

West Indies were boosted by a record 72-run stand for the ninth wicket but they still fell short by one run, despite 28 runs coming off the final over against England in Barbados.

West Indies lost by one run in the 2nd T20I against England in Barbados. (Image credit: Windies Twitter)
By Siddharth vishwanathan | Jan 24, 2022 | 3 Min Read follow icon Follow Us

West Indies were staring down the barrel at 98/8 in their chase of 172 in the second Twenty20 International against England in Barbados. But, a record 72-run stand for the ninth wicket between Akeal Hossain and Romario Shepherd gave West Indies an outside chance. 30 runs were needed off the final over bowled by Saqib Mahmood. Akeal Hosain smashed three sixes and two fours. There were two wides in that. But, West Indies lost the second Twenty20 International by one run. England leveled the five-match series 1-1.

The 72-run stand is the best for the West Indies in Twenty20 Internationals. The best, though, is a stand of 132 between Saber Zakhil and Saqlain Ali for Belgium against Austria in the T20I in Waterloo in 2021. This is only the fifth time in history that a partnership for the ninth wicket has gone past fifty. Here are the highest ninth-wicket stand in T20Is

PartnersRunsTeamOpponentVenueYear
Saber Zakhil, Saqlain Ali132*BelgiumAustriaWaterloo2021
Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd72*West IndiesEnglandBarbados2022
Dwayne Bravo, Jerome Taylor66West IndiesPakistanDubai 2016
Sohail Tanvir, Saeed Ajmal63PakistanSri LankaDubai2013
David Miller, Lutho Sipamla58*South AfricaPakistanLahore2021

England Boosted by Steady Contributions

England batted first, with Jason Roy and Tom Banton staring aggressively for the visitors. But, Fabian Allen struck twice by removing Banton for 25 and James Vince for 4 in the same over. But, Allen suffered from a vicious onslaught from Roy in the 11th over. Roy hit three fours and two sixes as 24 runs came in the over. Moeen Ali responded with two fours off Jason Holder and followed it up with a six off Pollard. But, Roy missed his fifty, and Moeen fell to Pollard for 31.

Read – Ireland create history by beating West Indies in bilateral series for first time

Chris Jordan helped England near 150 with a six and four off Romario Shepherd. Some late hits from the tail boosted England to 171/8. West Indies started disastrously, with Reece Topley sending back Brandon King. Shai Hope was run out Topley but Nicholas Pooran smashed a six and four off Jordan.

Darren Bravo hit a six off Adil Rashid but Moeen Ali dealt the Windies a big blow by getting rid of Pooran for 24. Rashid then sent back Pollard and Bravo in quick succession. Moeen dismissed Holder and Odean Smith in the same over. Shepherd hit two sixes off Liam Dawson while Allen had some fun with a six off Moeen. When Allen fell, West Indies were still 74 runs away with only 30 balls remaining.

West Indies fall short vs England

Hosein showed his intent with a six but Shepherd clobbered two sixes off Jordan as West Indies refused to go down without a fight. 38 runs were needed off 12 balls but Topley conceded just eight runs. In the second ball of the final over, the umpire refused to signal a wide to a ball that was far away from the tramline.

Hosein vented out his frustration by hammering two fours and three sixes as 28 runs came off the final over. The one-run loss by the West Indies highlighted the earlier batting struggle by the Windies batters. “If you lose early wickets, you tend to struggle. But the way the guys fought at the end, was tremendous. Akeal batted really well at the end, spare a word for Shepherd. He’s really taken some responsibility,” Pollard said.





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