After an up-and-down run in the initial group stage to qualify for the 'Super 8s', England finally had a confidence-building win over the dangerous West Indies on Thursday (IST) to kick off the second stage of their campaign in the T20 World Cup.
England Opener Phil Salt shone bright in his team's eight-wicket triumph over the tournament co-hosts. The defending champions successfully chased down the West Indies' total of 180 for 4, reaching 181 for 2 in a mere 17.3 overs at the host nation's venue.
T20 WORLD CUP: Schedule | Points Table Salt's contribution in that win was instrumental in securing the victory, as he swiftly amassed an undefeated 87 runs off just 47 deliveries.
"It's been a very stop-start (tournament) for us. We had a hiccup against Australia and then, the rain out against Scotland. It didn't really feel like we played much cricket up to this point," Salt said in the post-match press meet, as quoted by PTI.
"I feel in tournament cricket, you need a bit of confidence and momentum at the right time and you need to keep building on it. So, to get a win against the hosts gives us the first push in that direction," he added.
Phil Salt demonstrated his adaptability during his innings, as evidenced by his strike rate surpassing 185. Despite the rapid departures of Jos Buttler and Moeen Ali, the right-handed batsman initially exercised restraint before unleashing his aggressive strokes once more.
Salt later revealed that he was carefully selecting the optimal time to launch an offensive against the West Indian bowling attack.
"It was more about me batting through, once Jos got out, I was always going to sort of play the anchor role, especially when we sent Moeen as the lefty. I think it was about me just batting through that period and waiting for my time to strike," he noted.
Salt swifty shifted gears and went into the top gear in the 16th over bowled by Romario Shepherd, smashing 30 runs off the pacer to seal the chase.
"Obviously, Shepherd coming back from that end was my time to pull the trigger. In the back of my head I did, (visualise it) but I didn't vocalise it to Jonny (Bairstow). I didn't want him to say no. I feel like they've got such good spinners and they've bowled really well through the middle, so I felt like the first sniff I got, I had to take that chance," he added.
He said that it was a special effort by the bowlers led by paceman Jofra Archer and leg-spinner Adil Rashid to limit the West Indies to under 200.
"I think we bowled really well coming here for the first time. I think we would have definitely taken 180. We had some really good plans and we kept a few of their main guys quiet. So, I think from Jofra and Rash (Rashid) that's a really experienced, skilled bit of reading the game and then the execution," said Salt.
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