England and West Indies renew their T20 World Cup rivalry at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium, revisiting memories of the 2016 showdown. While Harry Brook’s England survived a scare against Nepal, Shai Hope’s West Indies arrive confident after beating Scotland, eyeing another big win
WI coach Darren Sammy (left) with skipper Shai Hope during a practice session at Wankhede on Tuesday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Two-time former champions England and West Indies will vie for supremacy in their Group ‘C’ encounter of the T20 World Cup at the Wankhede Stadium today. Harry Brook-led England survived a big scare when they squeezed past Nepal by four runs at the same venue on Sunday, while Shai Hope’s West Indies started their campaign with a 35-run win over Scotland at Kolkata on Saturday.
Ahead of a re-match between the finalists of the 2016 T20 World Cup at the very same venue, WI head coach Sammy admitted that Mumbai is a lucky place for his team and is hoping his charges can repeat last time’s heroics once more.
“We started the tournament well [beating Scotland]. Mumbai has been a place that has been kind to us in World Cups against the same opposition we face tomorrow [Wednesday]. So we look forward to it,” Sammy said during the pre-match press conference on Tuesday.
During their 2016 win, WI outclassed Eoin Morgan’s England team by six wickets — a match in which Chris Gayle’s 48-ball 100 not out, laced with five fours and 11 sixes, played a crucial role.
“Gayle is special. Yeah, I remember it was our first game. I think England scored 180 [182]. We walked out and Gayle said they were 30 runs short. So that's the Wankhede for you. It's a tough place to defend. But that's 10 years ago. You look at the team [currently], we have class,” Sammy said while recalling the special win a decade ago.
When asked about the 2016 final encounter, England batter Jos Buttler, who scored a 20-ball 30 that day, said: “Yeah, I do remember. I had a good view for that. I actually think Moeen Ali [1-38] bowled an unbelievable spell at him and then he decided to hit the last three balls he faced off Moeen for three sixes. [But] hopefully the result can be different tomorrow night.”
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