Navi Mumbai, Feb 28 (IANS/ WISHAVWARTA ) Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Sulieman Benn, and Ravi Pampaul turned back the clock as West Indies Masters handed England Masters an eight-run defeat for their second victory in the inaugural International Masters League (IML) here on Thursday. The DY Patil Stadium was drenched in nostalgia as the icons of West Indies and England assembled under the floodlights for the fifth match of the inaugural IML, with the West Indies Masters riding on an all-round effort. The stadium was transported back in time as Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith reignited the Caribbean flair, launching a fearless assault that powered the West Indies to a blistering 77-run opening stand in just over seven overs after being put in to bat. Gayle, who stood as the West Indies Masters skipper in place of Brian Lara, unleashed a vintage power-hitting masterclass, smoking 39 off 19 deliveries, while Smith matched his left-handed partner shot for shot to slam 35 off 25. While Gayle dealt mostly in boundaries, dispatching the bowlers for four massive sixes and three boundaries, Smith was more subdued of the two, scoring four boundaries and a couple of sixes. But just as the Windies seemed unstoppable, the English spinners applied the brakes, accounting for top five wickets in no time. Leg-spinner Chris Schofield started the slide, breaking the flourishing opening partnership in a span of three deliveries to pull the game back to level terms. Left-arm spinner Monty Panesar then struck thrice in quick succession to further dent the West Indian scoring rate, as the Caribbean side, which had raced to 90 for 2 in 10 overs, crawled to 113 for 5 in 15 overs. The arrival of Deonarine and Ashley Nurse, however, changed the momentum as the duo took the attack back to the opposition with a range of attractive strokes, and more importantly, provided the late flourish to the innings with a 44-run stand for the sixth wicket. Deonarine clobbered three clean sixes to slam an unbeaten 23-ball 35 while Nurse belted two boundaries and as many sixes to finish off with a 13-ball 29, which propelled the innings to 179/6. In response, England never found the momentum going their way after opener Phil Mustard’s masterclass 19-ball 35, laced with seven fours and a six, and captain Eoin Morgan’s 13-ball 22, powered by a couple of fours and a six, as the West Indian bowlers came up with a disciplined effort to not only curb the flow of runs but kept taking wickets at regular intervals, that saw the English batting tottering at 76/5 inside the first 10. After Rampaul and Jerome Taylor got rid of the top three, the spin duo of left-armer Sulieman Benn and offie Ashley Nurse pegged back the Englishmen with three more wickets. With the asking rate mounting, Chris Schofield and Chris Tremlett released some of the pressure by forging a 52-run partnership for the seventh wicket before Taylor ended Schofield’s resistance after the right-hander slammed a 26-ball 32, powered by five hits to the fence. Desperately searching for their first win in the tournament, England Masters needed 18 from the final over, and Stuart Meaker’s 10-ball 24, along with Tremlett’s 19-ball 26, almost guided them over the line before Dwayne Smith used his experience to turn the tide in the West Indies’ favour. Brief scores: West Indies Masters 179/6 in 20 overs (Chris Gayle 39, Dwayne Smith 35, Deonarine 35; Monty Panesar 3/14) beat England Masters 171/8 in 20 overs (Phil Mustard 35, Chris Schofield 32; Sulieman Benn 2/11, Ravi Rampaul 2/38) by 8 runs. –IML 2025
