England and Windies squared off against each other in the 4th ODI of the series at the Kennington Oval, London. Having a lead of 2-0, the hosts needed just one more win to seal the series. The rain gods were in their favor as a stunning knock by Evin Lewis went in vain courtesy the intervention of rain.
Woakes’s early dismissals
Earlier, it was England’s skipper Eoin Morgan who won the toss and opted to field. The pacer Chris Woakes provided the perfect start by removing the dangerous Chris Gayle in the first over for 2. Two overs later, he accounted for the wicket of Shai Hope as well for 11 as the visitors were pegged back early.
Marlon Samuels became the 3rd victim of Woakes as the visitors were left reeling at 33/3 in the 7th over. Windies were in a deep trouble but Evin Lewis was still there at the crease who found Jason Mohammed for a company. Lewis was striking the ball well from the outset and Mohammed played the perfect foil for him.
Lewis’s onslaught
Lewis reached his fifty in the 20th over while his partner was cautious at the other end as the score reached 96/3. The opener carried on the charge but Mohammed departed for 46 to Adil Rashid as a solid partnership of 113 ended in the 29th over. The captain Jason Holder walked out to bat with the score at 150/3.
Lewis brought up his 2nd ODI hundred in the 35th over and after that, he went absolutely ballistic. He kept punishing the bowlers with Holder also joining the act. The left-hander looked set to reach a double century. There was anticipation all around but unfortunately, he injured his ankle and wasn’t able to carry on. He was taken off the field on a stretcher and retired hurt for 176 off 129 balls in the 47th over.
The partnership between Lewis and Holder added 168 runs that turned out to be the highest for the country for the 5th wicket. Holder and Rovman struck some lusty blows at the end and took the side to a massive 356/5 at the end of 50 overs. Holder got out off the last ball for 77 off 62 balls.
Roy grabbed the chance
In reply, Jason Roy cherished the opportunity to open in the absence of Alex Hales. He went after the bowlers from the outset and kept his team in the hunt. While he was aggressive, his partner Jonny Bairstow concentrated on hanging in there. The score reached 57/0 at the end of 10 overs and soon after, Roy got to his fifty.
There was no stopping him and Bairstow too opened his arms in the whilst. The opening pair added 126 runs before Roy was dismissed by Alzarri Joseph in the 18th over for 84. Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan and Sam Billings too fell in quick succession to the same bowler as the hosts found themselves at 181/5 in the 28th over as Joseph bagged a fifer.
England was lagging behind big time and the rain threat was looming over the game. Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali played the condition beautifully and began to catch up on the DLS par score. When the rain arrived in the 36th over, the home side was 6 runs ahead of the par score. Buttler was not out at 43 off 35 balls while Moeen stayed unbeaten at 48 off 25 as the rain gods refused to relent.
No further game was possible and England won the match by 6 runs by DL method to go 3-0 up in the series with one more ODI to be played this Friday at Southampton.
Match Summary
England won the toss and opted to bowl first
Windies:Â 356/5 in 50 overs
Evin Lewis 176, Jason Holder 77
Chris Woakes 71/3, Adil Rashid 67/1
England:Â 258/5 in 35.1 overs
Jason Roy 84, Moeen Ali 48
Alzarri Joseph 56/5
England won by 6 runs by DLS Method
Player of the Match: Evin Lewis