Dawson, Buttler shine as England beat West Indies by 21 runs in 1st T20I

Chester-le-Street [UK], June 7 (ANI): A fiery spell on comeback from all-rounder Liam Dawson and a blistering 96 from Jos Buttler helped England seal a 21-run win over West Indies in the first T20I at Chester-le-Street on Friday night.
With this win, England has taken a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
England won the toss and opted to bat first. Ben Duckett perished to Romario Shepherd for just one in four balls after an expensive start, over which saw Jamie Smith crunch Jason Holder for three fours and gather 16 runs.
Buttler arrived next and clobbered Alzarri Joseph for 23 runs with three sixes and a four in the sixth over, finishing the powerplay at 78/1. Liberated from the burdens of captaincy, Buttler looked in pristine touch.
Smith gave a catch to Sherfane Rutherford at deep mid-wicket, ending a 79-run stand with Buttler as he departed for 38 in 20 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes, just a ball after Buttler reached his fifty in 25 balls. England was 95/2 in eight overs.
Skipper Harry Brook (6) fared poorly in his first T20I as captain while Tom Banton did not trouble scorekeepers either, reducing England to 116/4 in 11.4 overs. A 60-run stand between Bethell (23* in 23 balls, with a six) and Buttler followed. England's innings ended at 188/6 in 20 overs, with Buttler (96 in 59 balls, with six fours and four sixes) being the top scorer.
Shepherd (2/33) was the top bowler for WI, while Andre Russell, Roston Chase and Joseph took one each.
During the run-chase, Johnson Charles (18 in 15 balls) and skipper Shai Hope (3) fell early, reducing WI to 33/2 in 5.2 overs. The visitors got some temporary respite as a 58-run stand between Evin Lewis (39 in 23 balls, with three fours and three sixes) and Chase (24 in 20 balls, with two fours and a six) followed. Bethell was taken down for 24 runs by the duo, including two fours and two sixes, but he got the last laugh by removing Lewis from the equation. WI was 91/3 in 10 overs.
From this point onwards, Dawson bowled his magical spell, removing Chase, Rutherford (13) and Rovman Powell (15) to break the back of the WI batting and leaving them at 115/6 in 13.4 overs. Not much went in favour of WI from there as they could score only 167/9 in their 20 overs.
Dawson (4/20) was a standout bowler in his comeback for England. Bethell and Matthew Potts got two wickets each while Adil Rashid bowled an economical four-over spell of 1/22.
Dawson took home the 'Player of the Match' honours. (ANI)