Salt, Mahmood lead England to victory in 1st T20I
Philip Salt's brilliant batting and Saqib Mahmood's four-wicket haul guided England to a stunning eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first T20I of their five-match series. The match took place at Kensington Oval in Barbados. Salt scored an unbeaten century off just 54 balls as England (183/2) prevailed in just 16.5 overs. This is his third T20I ton, all of which have come against West Indies in the Caribbean. Here are the key stats.
Mahmood's career-best figures contribute to England's victory
Mahmood also played a key role in England's win, taking four wickets for 34 runs. This included three wickets in the powerplay and a tight over at the death. Despite his stellar spell, WI managed to post a strong total while batting first (182/9). The likes of Nicholas Pooran (38 off 29) and Andre Russell (30 off 17), Romario Shepherd (35* off 22), and Gudakesh Motie (33 off 14) were among the runs.
Salt's aggressive batting secures England's win
Salt's aggressive batting was instrumental in England's win. He smashed 22 runs off one over from Shamar Joseph and never looked back. Salt added an unbroken 107-run stand with Jacob Bethell, who scored his maiden T20I 50 to loud cheers from the crowd. When Salt hit five consecutive boundaries off Joseph, taking his side past the 50-mark in the fourth over of the run-chase, it was clear that England meant business.
Bethell's support seals England's victory
Bethell played a key supporting role to Salt, scoring an unbeaten 58 off 36 balls. He smoked five fours and two maximums. He hit the winning runs, pulling Romario Shepherd for two to seal victory with 3.1 overs to spare. Playing his third T20I, the young all-rounder has raced to 104 runs at a strike rate of 157.58. Overall, this was his fifth half-century in the 20-over format.
Salt scripted history
Salt made history by becoming the first player to score three centuries against a single team in T20Is. His maiden T20I century came against West Indies on December 16, 2023, in St George's. He scored an incredible 109 off just 56 balls. Just three days later, on December 19, 2023, Salt scored his second T20I century in Tarouba, scoring an astonishing 119 off just 57 balls.
1,000 T20I runs for Salt
Salt made an unbeaten 103 off 54 balls as he smoked nine fours and six maximums. He also went past 1,000 T20I runs during his stay. In 34 T20Is, Salt now owns 1,047 runs at 38.77. The tally includes three tons and as many fifties. His strike rate reads a stunning 167.52. Five of his six 50-plus scores in the format have come against WI as he has raced to 583 runs against them at 81.
100 T20 wickets for Mahmood
Mahmood, who claimed 4/34 in his quota of four overs, registered his career-best T20I figures. This four-fer took his tally to 13 wickets across 15 T20Is at an economy of 10.20. Notably, he went wicket-less in each of his previous three T20Is versus WI. Mahmood also completed 100 T20 wickets (now 103). Having played 79 games, he boasts an economy of 8.69 (4W: 4).
Three-fer for Rashid
Besides Mahood, Adil Rashid claimed three wickets. The veteran leg-spinner returned with 3/32 in his four overs. With this, the veteran leg-spinner has raced to 125 wickets from 117 T20Is at an economy of 7.33. 35 of his wickets have come in 20 T20Is against WI at a fine economy of 5.94.
