An explosive unbeaten 30 runs from just nine balls by skipper Darren Sammy took his team to a 2-0 series win as they defeated England by five wickets in the second T20 International at Kensington Oval yesterday.Scores: England 153/7 (20) vs West Indies 155/5 (18.5). After Krishmar Santokie grabbed four wickets for 21 runs to restrict England to 153 for seven in their 20 overs, the West Indian batsmen came out with all guns firing and had the English running for cover. Chris Gayle (36) and Dwayne Smith (30) tried to find out how many extra balls the match referee had, as they frequently sent them out the ground.
England however, fought back and it took a brilliant cameo from the St Lucian Sammy in the end to seal the win with seven balls to spare. When Sammy entered the fray, West Indies needed 38 runs from 22 balls. The massive crowd was on the edge of their seats, as the English found a way back into the three-match series.However, Sammy had the home fans jumping as he hammered two fours and three sixes in his cameo.The West Indies will now meet the English in their final game tomorrow with the local boys looking for the 'whitewash'.Earlier, the tourists won the toss and decided against allowing their seamers the use of the seam-friendly atmosphere.It was Jamaican left arm seamer Santokie who welcomed the conditions and immediately made inroads into the English batting with two early scalps. Leg-spinner Samuel Badree was the perfect foil for him, creating pressure from the North, while Santokie fell the batsmen from the South.
Badree, who grabbed three wickets in the opening win, eventually added to his tally, as he sent back stand-in skipper Eoin Morgan for three. England's innings mirrored the glum look on their fans faces, as a glance to the giant scoreboard would reveal 26 for three after five overs.However, the Barmy Army were soon doing their thing, as the next hour belonged to the visitors. Buttler got a reprieve from the normally tidy Denesh Ramdin.The two rode their luck well to play a number of power strokes that rocketed into the boundary boards at the small ground. They added 76 runs for the fourth wickets off 8.5 overs before being separated. Hales was the first man gone, caught by Lendl Simmons off Bravo for 40. He faced 36 balls and struck one four and two sixes.
The brash Butler continued to hammer the bowling and with ragged bowling came equally ragged fielding as England continued to press on.However, the heavens opened at 107 for four after 14.3 overs to bring relief for the home team. When play resumed at 3.55 pm, the Windies had 16 minutes to bowl 5.3 overs and they did but more than that, they clawed their way right back into the game, as Santokie returned to grab another two. One of his scalps was Buttler 67. He slammed five fours and three sixes in the 43 balls he consumed.
SCOREBOARD
West Indies vs England
England Inns
M Lumb lbw Santokie 4
A Hales c Simmons b Bravo 40
M Ali lbw Santokie 5
E Morgan c Simmons b Badree 3
J Butler c Sammy b Santokie 67
R Bopara c Bravo b Santokie 14
L Wright not out 7
T Bresnan c Ramdin b Bravo 7
Extras b1, lb3, w1 5
Total for 7 wkts (20ovs) 152
Fall of wkts: 13, 21, 26, 102, 137, 143, 152.
Bowling: S Badree 4-0-16-1, K Santokie 4-0-21-4, M Samuels 2-0-17-0, R Rampaul 3-0-30-0, D Sammy 1-0-17-0, D Bravo 4-0-34-2, A Russell 2-0-13-0.
Windies Inns
D Smith c Bresnan b Dernbach 30
C Gayle b Bopara 36
M Samuels c Hales b Bresnan 28
L Simmons c Buttler b Wright 19
A Russell c Hales b Bresnan 2
D Bravo not out 8
D Sammy not out 30
Extras w2 2
Total 5 wkts (18.5) 155
Fall of wkts: 48, 75, 111, 116, 116.
Bowling: T Bresnan 3.5-0-51-2, J Dernbach 3-0-30-1, J Tredwell 4-0-27-0, R Bopara 4-0-10-1, S Parry 2-0-17-0, L Wright 2-0-20-1.
Result: West Indies won by 5 wkts.
West Indies won three-match series 2-0.
Man of match: Krishmar Santokie.