West Indies Triumphs in Rain-Hit First ODI Against England
A sensational show of collective bowling, coupled with Evin Lewis's rapid-fire 94 off 69 balls, propelled the West Indies to a comfortable 8-wicket triumph in the rain-affected first ODI against England in Antigua. Jayden Seales, Matthew Forde and Alzarri Joseph each claimed two wickets, while Gudakesh Motie bagged four, bowling England out for 209. A revised target of 157 in 35 overs was set for the West Indies due to the rain, but they achieved it in just 25.5 overs, thereby gaining a lead in the three-match ODI series.
Post a rain-induced pause preceding the second innings, Lewis charged the West Indies' chase with sixes fired at John Turner and Jofra Archer. He drilled three maximums within the first 10 overs itself. Brandon King added a handful of boundaries while providing proper support to Lewis, leading the West Indies to 54/0 during the first powerplay. Lewis continued his six-hitting insanity, clocking five by the time he reached a nimble 46-ball fifty, when the rain started pouring again and compelled a pause in play with West Indies at 81/0 in 15 overs.
Despite the initial interruption not affecting the overs' count, the second one led to a revised target. Lewis picked up from where he left, dealing in fours and sixes, including two blistering fours and a six off Adil Rashid in the 17th over that propelled the West Indies past 100. The opening tally of 118 ended when King misjudged a short ball from Liam Livingstone and got caught in the deep, leading to his dismissal for 30. However, Lewis continued and took his sixes count to 8. An attempt to hit Rashid out of the park fell flat as he found long-off, which cut his streak short six runs shy of a century. Keacy Carty remained undefeated with 19 runs, completing the chase.
Earlier, having been elected to bat first, England's initial batters showed potential but failed to capitalize. Seales took the wickets of Phil Salt (18) and Will Jacks (19), and Forde dismissed Jordan Cox (17) and Jacob Bethell (27) in quick succession. A 72-run partnership followed between Livingstone and Sam Curran, aiding England's recovery and effort to post a challenging total. From 165/4 in the 35th over, England's situation deteriorated as they could only add 44 more runs and were bundled out in 45.1 overs. Dan Mousley and Jamie Overton fell to Motie in successive deliveries, slipping England to 187/8. Rashid and Archer managed to get England past 200 before Joseph claimed the final two wickets. The brief scores stood at England 209 in 45.1 overs, and West Indies achieved the revised target of 157/2 in 25.5 overs, clinching an 8-wicket victory.
