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In a riveting encounter at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, England faced off against West Indies in the opening match of the five-game T20I series. The English side was bowled out for 171 in 19.3 overs, and the hosts successfully chased down the target in 18.1 overs with 4 wickets in hand. The standout performer of the match was Andre Russell, the superstar from the Caribbean, who earned the well-deserved “Player of the Match” title with his outstanding all-round display.
Andre Russell exhibits top-class bowling
Russell claimed three wickets for 19 runs in his return to the West Indies national team, dismissing Phil Salt, Liam Livingstone, and Rehan Ahmed to complete his 3-wicket haul. Russell’s impact was felt early in the match, breaking the partnership between English openers Salt and Jos Buttler, who had added 77 runs in the powerplay.
Shimron Hetmyer takes a phenomenal catch
The breakthrough came when Russell dismissed Salt, who had scored a commendable 40 off 20 balls, including 6 fours and a six. Notably, the credit for Russell’s wicket of Salt goes to Shimron Hetmyer, who executed a remarkable catch at the boundary line. The crucial moment occurred in the first ball of the 7th over when Salt attempted a big shot on the deep mid-wicket region.
Initially, it seemed the ball would clear the boundary easily, but Hetmyer exhibited exceptional skill by catching the ball just before it crossed the line. Anticipating that the momentum would carry him over, Hetmyer released the ball back into the field of play. The Guyanese cricketer swiftly re-entered the field, leaped, and completed the catch, resulting in Salt’s dismissal.
Also READ: Twitter reactions – Andre Russell’s all-round performance steers West Indies to a convincing win over England in 1st T20I
Here is the video:
Hetmyer pulling out some (boundary) rope tricks for a stunning catch 💪
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.#WIvENG #WIvENGonFanCode pic.twitter.com/OAd3XXd2nm— FanCode (@FanCode) December 13, 2023
‘I was dreaming about getting a MoM award’: Andre Russell
After receiving the Player of the Match award, Russell revealed that when he received the call-up two weeks prior, he started to dream about receiving the Man of the Match reward. Russell described the wicket as being “up and down, two-paced,” indicating that the pitch was not consistent, and the ball might bounce unevenly or at different speeds. He emphasized the importance of using cutters as a bowling strategy to cope with the unpredictable nature of the wicket.
“When I got a call-up two weeks back, I was dreaming about getting a MoM award, I didn’t know how it would have happen though. Since the CPL season, the wicket has been up and down, two-paced, you’ll have to bowl a lot more cutters,” said Russell at the post-match presentation.
