In a performance reminiscent of their final league game against Oman earlier in the tournament, England put all their qualification doubts to rest with a pulverizing ten-wicket win over USA at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday (June 23). A Chris Jordan hat-trick was the cherry on top of a clinical England bowling performance with Adil Rashid once again the standout as the duo triggered a USA collapse. With net run rate boost in sights, like in that Oman game, England once again showed no mercy as Jos Buttler dominated the chase with a 38-ball 83 to ensure that the game was done before the ten-over mark.
Where was the game won?
In the middle overs of the first half. While USA’s powerplay with the bat saw them lose two wickets, they still had put up 48 on the board. However, once the field spread, Rashid got into his work and led a squeeze job from which the USA never recovered.
USA
Powerplay: Nitish counterattacks amidst England’s twin strikes
Phase score: 48/2 [RR: 8.00, 4s/6s: 4/3]
Put into bat on a decent surface that played tacky initially due to preceeding rains, USA were jolted in the very first over as the in-form Andries Gous fell to Reece Topley after having hit the left-arm seamer for a six two balls before. But Nitish Kumar, slotting in at three, counterpunched with some adventurous strokeplay. Steven Taylor, the silent partner, also got a couple of boundaries but the powerplay was largely about Nitish’s antics. Taylor fell to Sam Curran in the sixth over to ensure an even start to proceedings.
Middle overs: Rashid leads the strangle job
Phase score: 43/3 [RR: 4.78, 4s/6s: 1/1]
Outside the powerplay, USA found quick-scoring extremely difficult as Adil Rashid got into his work with the customary bag of tricks. The leggie bowled all his four overs during this phase, giving away just 13 runs. He also picked up the big wickets of Aaron Jones and Nitish Kumar to peg USA behind considerably. Liam Livingstone did his part with a frugal spell that included the wicket of Milind Kumar. It was a complete implosion for USA as they lost the plot completely against some disciplined bowling.
Death overs: USA don’t last 20 overs
Phase score:24/5 [RR: 6.27, 4s/6s: 2/1]
USA desperately needed Corey Anderson and Harmeet Singh to give them a proper finish but that wasn’t to be. The former launched Livingstone for a maximum to give some hope but fell in the same over, leaving the onus on Harmeet. The spinning all-rounder did hit a couple of boundaries and a six but had too much to do by himself as he perished to Curran in the final ball of the 18th over. Five deliveries later, the innings was over as Chris Jordan cleaned up the last four wickets including a hat-trick, which meant that USA were bowled out without using seven deliveries of their stipulated 20 overs.
ENGLAND
Powerplay: Jos Buttler makes a statement
Phase score: 60/0 [RR: 10.00, 4s/6s: 6/2]
Surprisingly, England’s chase saw a cautious start with just six runs off the first two overs. However, the carnage was only a matter of time and Jos Buttler exploded in the third over by taking on Saurabh Netravalkar for a boundary and two massive sixes, one of which landed on the roof of Kensington Oval. Phil Salt ironically played second fiddle as Buttler tore into USA’s bowlers with his trademark swagger in strokeplay. By the time the powerplay was over, England had knocked off more than half of the target.
Middle overs: Buttler makes a mockery of the target
Unlike their final league game of the tournament, England didn’t need a major net run rate boost this time around. A win in 18.4 overs was enough for qualification but Buttler had bigger goals in mind. To top the group (albeit temporarily), England needed to seal the game inside 10.2 overs and the English skipper ensured that this was achieved with four balls to spare. He was particularly severe on Harmeet Singh who got smacked for five sixes in a row in his second over. Salt was a silent spectator as Buttler toyed with USA’s bowlers to finish the game in a canter.
Brief scores: USA 115 in 18.5 overs (Nitish Kumar 30; Chris Jordan 4-10, Adil Rashid 2-13) lost to England 117/0 in 9.4 overs (Jos Buttler 83*, Phil Salt 25*) by ten wickets
What’s next?
After being the last team to make the Super 8s, England have become the first side to qualify for the semis. There are still a lot of permutations and combinations regarding who the other three teams shall be, so they will have a few days break before the knockouts. For USA, it is a dismal end to their campaign, given the two successive thrashings they got against West Indies and England respectively. Nevertheless, the tournament co-hosts can be proud of their efforts, having qualified for the Super 8s against everyone’s expectations.
