New Delhi:

The hosts were invited to bat first and got a brisk start as openers Jamie Smith (37 off 24) and Ben Duckett (60 off 48) shared a 64-run partnership for the opening wicket. While Smith turned out to be the first scalp, Duckett stayed put and reached his half century, also combining with Joe Root (57 off 65) for 73 runs for the second wicket. Root too reached his fifty and made a 51-run stand with skipper Brook (58 off 45) for the third wicket.

Jos Buttler contributed with 37 (off 32), but it was the innings of Jacob Bethell (Player of the Match) at no. 6 that took the spotlight. The 21-year-old southpaw, who recently returned after his Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 duties, looked on song and struck 82 runs off 53 deliveries, laced with eight fours and five sixes. With Buttler, he made a 66-run stand for the fifth wicket, while with Will Jacks (39 off 24), he added 98 runs for the sixth.

The four half-centurions powered England to a formidable total of 400/8 in their stipulated 50 overs. For the West Indies, right-arm pacer Jayden Seales was the pick of the bowlers, taking four wickets (of Root, Brook, Buttler, and Bethell) while Alzarri Joseph and Justin Greaves bagged two apiece.

England took a 1-0 lead in the three-match ODI series as they crushed West Indies by 238 runs in the first one-dayer at Edgbaston in Birmingham on Thursday. The English team, led by new ODI skipper Harry Brook, registered a mighty total of 400 runs to leave the West Indies bowlers rattled and took off with new beginnings, boasting a totally refurbished side.

West Indies’ disastrous chase

Although the visitors were never expected to catch the target, it was still thinkable that they would put up a good competition. Starting out with the opening duo of Brandon King and Greaves, they could just add eight runs for the first wicket as the latter departed on a score of four. Soon, King made his way back on 10 with Keacy Carty (22 off 26) and skipper Hope (25 off 21) handling the innings going further. They added 36 runs for the third wicket but faltered soon after, and just like them, the remaining West Indies batters were dominated by the English bowling attack as well. Alzarri Joseph (12 off 19), from the tail, made a 22-run stand with Gudakesh Motie (18 off 11) and a 38-run stand with Seales (29* off 14) before the home bowlers restricted them at 162 in 26.2 overs.

Right-arm pacers Jamie Overton and Saqib Mahmood shone for England with their respective three-wicket efforts, while Adil Rashid picked up two. The likes of Brydon Carse and Bethell picked one wicket each to dismantle the West Indies batting lineup. The second innings was also highlighted by skipper Brook taking a total of five catches to dismiss the Caribbean batters and a one-handed stunner from Carse off Mahmood, to send back Hope.

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