Motie, Lewis shine as WI beat England by 8 wickets in 1st ODI

An explosive half-century from Evin Lewis and four-wicket haul from Gudakesh Motie helped West Indies secure a eight-wicket win over England in the first ODI at Antigua on Friday. WI is 1-0 up in the three-match series. West Indies won the toss and put England to field first.

The Three Lions had a decent start with openers Phil Salt (18) and Will Jacks (19) scoring some boundaries and putting up a 39-run opening stand. However, Jayden Seales (2/22) got rid of these two openers in quick succession, bringing England to 46/2.

A 40-run partnership followed between Jordan Cox (17) and Jacob Bethell (27 in 33 balls, with three fours). Pacer Matthew Forde took two more in quick succession, reducing England to 93/4. England touched the 100-run mark in 22.5 overs.

Skipper Liam Livingstone  (48 in 49 balls, with three fours and two sixes) and Sam Curran (37 in 56 balls, with two fours) put up a 72-run stand for the fifth wicket, trying to get England out of troubled waters. However, a game-turning spell from Motie not only removed both all-rounders quickly, but also helped in wiping out the lower middle-order/tailend and bundled out England for 209 in 45.1 overs. Motie (4/41 in 10 overs) was the pick of the bowlers for WI. Seales and Forde also took two wickets. Alzarri Joseph also got two wickets.

Due to rain, West Indies was set a target of 157 runs in 35 overs. Openers Brandon King and Lewis put the hosts through an explosive start. Wi reached the 50-run mark in just 10.1 overs. Lewis also reached his explosive half-century in 46 balls, with a four and five sixes. In next seven overs, WI reached the 100-run mark in 17 overs.

Livingstone broke the partnership, removing King for 30 in 56 balls, with three fours. WI was 118/1 in 19.1 overs. Lewis also fell short of a hundred, scoring 94 in just 69 balls, with five fours and eight sixes before falling to Adil Rashid. WI was 144/2 in 22.3 overs. Keacy Carty (19*) and skipper Shai Hope (6*) helped the Windies reach the target in 25.5 overs. Motie secured the 'Player of the Match' award. (ANI)