West Indies, powered by Chris Gayle's whirlwind 162, were well on course to surpass the mammoth 418 posted by England, until Adil Rashid stepped in
Grenada: Adil Rashid produced a dream over on Wednesday, claiming four wickets in five balls, as England stopped a rampaging West Indies in their tracks, winning the fourth ODI by 29 runs and taking an unassailable 2-1 lead in the series.
Earlier, England hammered 418/6 in their 50 overs, setting the record for the highest ODI total in the Caribbean. The tourists got to this mammoth total thanks to twin centuries by captain Eoin Morgan and wicketkeeper Jos Buttler. The duo built on a solid foundation laid by a blistering 82 by opener Alex Hales, who had been pushed to the top of the order as a replacement for the injured Jason Roy. Jonny Bairstow and Hales put on a 100-run partnership before the former departed in the 14th over.
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Morgan and Buttler got together after Hales's dismissal and plundered 204 runs together in just 20.2 overs. No bowler was spared. Jason Holder, who was the star of the Test series, saw some battering, going for over 12 runs in his seven overs. Ashley Nurse and Carlos Brathwaite's economy rates of 6.8 and 6.9 respectively were the outliers amid all the carnage. Morgan's 103 (4X8, 6X6) came off 88 balls, while Buttler hit his 150 (4X13, 6X12) off a mere 77 balls.
The Windies, however, mounted a tremendous charge in reply. Led by the inimitable Chris Gayle, who smashed 162 off 97 balls, the hosts got within touching distance of the target. Gayle's innings was studded with 11 fours and 14 sixes. But then came Rashid, who despite conceding 85 runs in his 10 overs, broke the dangerous-looking partnership between Brathwaite (50 off 36 balls) and Nurse (43 off 41 balls), and then took three more wickets at the same score to dismiss the Windies for 389. Rashid finished with a fifer.
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England posted a new world record for the most number of sixes in an ODI innings with 24, just a week after the Windies had hit 23.
The fifth and final ODI of the series is to be played in Gros Islet, St Lucia on Tuesday.
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