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After the disappointing four-wicket loss in the first T20I at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Wednesday, the English skipper Jos Buttler praised the West Indies team and said that they adapted better in the game.
Speaking at the post-match presentation, Buttler said that they were disappointed for failing to reach the 200-run mark in the first innings. Talking about the positives from the game, the English skipper praised batter Phil Salt and Rehan Ahmed. "It was always going to get harder. They adapted better, taking the pace off the ball, but we were disappointed at not getting to 200. We want to keep pushing the boundaries, but it's about finding a way to score runs, and minimize the dot balls, 20-25 runs would've been ideal. The ball did get wet, had to be changed and we were up against two big hitters. There were a few positives - Phil Salt and Rehan Ahmed, obviously, they had the better big-hitters on the night," Buttler said. 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 innings. Russell led the West Indies bowling attack after he scalped three wickets for only 19 runs. Meanwhile, Alzarri Joseph also picked three wickets but he gave away 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 at 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 for 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-over format series. (ANI)
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