England's T20 World Cup 2024 campaign received a much-needed boost with a convincing victory over West Indies on Wednesday. Captain Jos Buttler led the charge, surpassing Pakistan's Mohammad Rizwan as the designated wicket-keeper batter with the most runs in T20I history.
Buttler's 22-ball 25 took his tally to 2,967 runs in the format, surpassing Rizwan's 2,952. No other player has scored more than 2,500 runs as a designated keeper.
Buttler praised the performance of veteran spinner Adil Rashid, who conceded just 21 runs in his four-over spell and claimed the wicket of Andre Russell. "He has been all the time. He is our most important player. Has so many variations and restricts runs," Buttler said.
West Indies struck early, dismissing Buttler and Moeen Ali. However, Jonny Bairstow and Philip Salt steadied the innings with an unbeaten 97-run partnership. Salt's blistering 30 runs in Romario Shepherd's over effectively ended West Indies' hopes.
"Bairstow-Salt partnership was very good. Jonny took the game deep and Salty broke it with that one over. Jonny batted at No. 4 today, a class player for a really long time. You keep backing class players. Incredible, mature, senior player's innings. People say you learn when you lose, but you learn when you win as well. Important to put this to bed and focus now," Buttler remarked.
England's victory keeps their World Cup hopes alive, while West Indies face an uphill battle to qualify for the knockout stages.
Tags: #T20WorldCup2024, #JosButtler, #MohammadRizwan, #England, #WestIndies
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