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West Indies bowling all-rounder Andre Russell talked about the pitch at Kensington Oval in Barbados and said that the wicket has been up and down for which they had to deliver a lot more cutters.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Russell opined that in the initial stage of the innings, runs were scored when there was pace. He praised the Caribbean bowling attack and said that they had displayed a stellar performance later in the first innings. Talking about the run-chase inning, Russell said that he and the skipper Rovman Powell had the potential to finish the game if they batted deep. "Actually, life is so funny. When I got a call-up two weeks back, I was dreaming about getting an MoM award, I didn't know how it would have happened though. Since the CPL season, the wicket has been up and down, two-paced, you'll have to bowl a lot more cutters. Early on in their innings, runs were scored when there was pace. We bowled very well in the latter half. It was all about batting in pairs, we both have power (on himself and Powell), we knew we could finish off the game if we batted deep," Russell said. The 35-year-old was named the 'Player of the Match' after showcasing an eye-catching performance in the game. The Caribbean hitman Russell last played his T20I match in 2021 against Australia. After almost two years, he appeared for the West Indies in a T20I match on Wednesday. Recapping the match, after winning the toss, West Indies decided to field first. The opening duo of Philip Salt (40 runs from 20 balls) and Jos Buttler (39 runs from 31 balls) were the only standout batters for the English side in the game. Their contribution helped the away side to 171 runs in the first inning. Russell led the West Indies bowling attack after he scalped three wickets and gave only 19 runs. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph also picked three wickets but he gifted 54 runs in his 3.3-over spell. In the run chase of 172 runs, West Indies started well after Brandon King (22 runs from 12 balls) and Kyle Mayers (35 runs from 21 balls) set the tone for them. After the collapse of the middle order, the West Indies skipper Rovman Powell (31 runs from 15 balls) stayed on the crease till the end and helped his side clinch a memorable victory. However, Russell (29 runs from 14 balls) again played a pivotal role with the bat and made a solid partnership with his skipper to clinch the win. Rehan Ahmed led the English bowling attack after he scalped three wickets in his four-over spell and gifted 39 runs but failed to defend the target. The four-wicket win in the first T20I match helped the Caribbeans take the early lead in the five-game 20-ove format series. (ANI)
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