West Indies defeated England by four wickets at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Shannon Gabriel was adjudged as the “Man of the Match” after putting up a stellar display of fast-bowling and returning with figures of 9/137.
It is nothing less than redemption for Gabriel, who was only included as the travelling reserve in the beginning.
The winning-captain Jason Holder was pleased with the speedster as he hailed the “massive, massive heart” of Gabriel.
“Shannon is just one of those guys who keep doing it. He has a massive, massive heart and he’s been through a lot.”
Holder also talked about the consistent injury that Gabriel had endured in the recent past.
“He wants success so badly. His body hasn’t held up the way he would like but to see him back out there fit and well and bowling fast for the West Indies is always a pleasing sight. He deserves every bit of success he’s had in this game, said the Windies skipper.”
” I’m really, really happy for Shannon, I know what he’s been through.”
“We kept in contact while he was doing rehab. At some stages, he was very frustrated by how things were going but he stuck it through,” added all-rounder Holder.
Holder too played a crucial role in setting up Windies’ victory as he yielded career-best figures of 6/42 in the first innings.
“We all know when Shannon is fit and healthy, he is a handful and he proved it in this game.”
Shannon’s five-wicket haul in the second innings assured that West Indies’ don’t get a massive target to chase in the fourth innings.
The World No. 1 Test all-rounder rated this as one of his sides’ best triumphs.
“One of our best victories. Yesterday was the best day I had in Test cricket. All the bowlers toiled hard yesterday, and it was a hard-fought day of Test cricket, remarked Holder in the post-match conference.
