Women's WT20: England edge West Indies by 1 wicket in last-ball thriller

Dharamsala, March 24: England overcame a mighty scare due to a batting collapse to eventually eke out a hard-fought one-wicket win over West Indies in a last-ball thriller of the ICC Women's World Twenty20 here today (March 24).

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England dished out a disciplined bowling performance to restrict West Indies to a modest 108 for four in their stipulated 20 overs after skipper Stafanie Taylor won the toss and elected to bat.

Chasing 109 to win, openers Charlotte Edwards (30) and Tammy Beaumont (31) gave them a blistering start, sharing a 49-ball 59-run partnership but thereafter things went terribly wrong for them as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals.

It was Natalie Sciver (19 not out) who held on to one end to eventually take England home in the last ball of the match at the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium here.

Openers Charlotte and Tammy hit 10 boundaries and one six in 49 balls between them to lay the foundation for the runchase but then England suffered a collapse, losing four wickets to slip to 79-4.

It was Afy Fletcher, who scripted the turn around by taking three wickets in her four overs. She dismissed Tammy, Sarah Taylor (3) and Heather Knight (9).

Wickets continued to tumble as Stafanie Taylor then removed Lydia Greenway (2) and Danielle Wyatt (0) in the 15th over, while Quintyne got rid of Katherine Brunt (6) and Jenny Gunn (0) in the 19th over as England slumped to 101-8.

Needing 7 runs off last 6 balls, Shrubsole (4) run a couple of twos before being dismissed by Dottin but two extras after that from the bowler helped England to romp home.

Earlier, West Indies lost their first wicket in the second over when Katherine Brunt (1/26) dismissed opener Hayley Matthews (9). Other opener Stafanie Taylor (35) and Shaquana Quintyne (29) then brought up the fifty.

It was Quintyne who did bulk of the scoring as she hit four boundaries in her 28-ball innings. She was dismissed by Natalie Sciver (1/14) in the 11th over.

Skipper Taylor then took the onus on herself and added 52 runs with Deandra Dottin (22) to take West Indies across the 100-mark. Taylor was dismissed in the 19th over by Anya Shrubsole (1/11), while Dottin was removed in the next over by Jenny Gunn (1/15).

Brief Score: West Indies: 108/4 in 20 overs (SR Taylor 35; NR Sciver 1/14) England: 109/9 in 20 overs ( TT Beaumont 31; ASS Fletcher 3/12, SL Quintyne 3/19).

PTI