England level T20 series despite brilliance from Shepherd and Hosein
SUMMARY: England 171-8 from 20 overs (Jason Roy 45 off 31, Moeen Ali 31 off 24, Chris Jordan 27 off 15, Tom Banton 25 off 18; Jason Holder 2-25, Fabian Allen 2-50) vs West Indies 170-8 from 20 overs (Akeal Hosein 44* off 16, Romario Shepherd 44* off 28, Nicholas Pooran 24 off 22, Darren Bravo 23 off 20; Moeen Ali 3-24, Adil Rashid 2-24)
England dominated the majority of the second T20 against West Indies, but ultimately won by just one run after some astonishing late hitting from Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd.
West Indies needed a seemingly hopeless 30 off the final over, only for Hossain to take Saqib Mahmood for 28, including three sixes off the last three balls.
England earlier bounced back from being bowled out for 103 in the first T20 to post 171-8 on a similarly challenging pitch at the Kensington Oval, Barbados.
They were propelled by Jason Roy taking 24 off Fabian Allen’s 11th over, as 107 runs came in the second half of the innings.
Roy made 45, adding 61 with Moeen Ali, who contributed 31, while Chris Jordan once again shone on the island of his birth with a cameo of 27.
Left-arm seamer Reece Topley, playing his first T20 international for nearly six years, trapped Brandon King lbw and athletically ran out Shai Hope to leave West Indies reeling on 6-2.
With excessive turn on offer, spinners Moeen and Adil Rashid mesmerised the hosts in the middle overs, sharing five wickets, as they limped to 98-8 after 15.1 overs.
But Shepherd blasted five sixes in his 44 not out off 28 balls, while Hosein’s unbeaten 44 came from only 16 balls (3x4s, 4x6s) to make England’s margin of victory so much tighter than it should have been.
The pair added an unbroken 72 off the final 4.5 overs to keep the contest alive right up to the end.
The five-match series is level at 1-1. The third game is on Wednesday at the same venue, starting 16:00h.
