ENG vs WI 1st T20I Highlights: Jos Buttler’s 96 Guides England to Dominant Victory vs West Indies

England started their T20I series with a 21-run win over West Indies in the first match at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Friday. After choosing to bat first, the home team lost Ben Duckett early in the second over. But captain Jos Buttler held things together and built a solid 80-run partnership with Jamie Smith helping England set a good total.

After Jamie Smith fell for 38 in the eighth over, England began to lose wickets at regular intervals. Despite the collapse, Jos Buttler kept things going from the other end. The 34-year-old played a brilliant innings scoring 96 with six fours and four sixes before being dismissed by Alzarri Joseph in the 19th over. A quickfire 23 from Jacob Bethell at the end helped England finish strongly with a total of 188/6 in their 20 overs.

While Buttler’s knock was outstanding, it came with an unfortunate record. He became the first England wicketkeeper-batter to be dismissed in the 90s in a T20I. He also joined an unwanted list becoming only the fourth English player to fall in the 90s in T20Is alongside Alex Hales, Eoin Morgan and Jonny Bairstow.

In reply, West Indies kept losing wickets at regular intervals right from the start of their innings. Opener Evin Lewis was their top scorer with a quick 39 off 23 balls, but none of the other batters could build on that start. The English bowlers were right on the money, putting in a strong performance to restrict West Indies to 167/9 in their 20 overs.

Left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, playing just his 12th T20I, was the standout with career-best figures of 4/20. Matthew Potts and Jacob Bethell also chipped in with two wickets each helping England take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second game will be played in Bristol on June 8 followed by the final match in Southampton on June 10.

England Tour of West Indies (ODI Series)

England Tour of West Indies (T20I Series)

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