Defending champions England showed great fight before following short by 15 runs against West Indies in the Super Eights group one match against England at Pallekele stadium on Thursday.
England suffered a double jolt when they lost two wickets for no runs in the opening over but a
hundred run fourth-wicket partnership between Alex Hales (68) and Eoin Morgan (71*) gave them hope. However, the Windies held their nerve and successfully defended their 180-run target. Earlier, openers Johnson Charles and Chris Gayle notched aggressive half-centuries to propel West Indies to 179-5. Charles smashed three sixes and 10 well-timed boundaries in his 56-ball 84 while Gayle hit four sixes and six fours in his 35-ball 58 after West Indies won the toss and decided to bat.
West Indies had raced to 103 by 11th over when Gayle was finally out, caught by Steven Finn off Graeme Swann.
Scores: West Indies 179-5 (Charles 84, Gayle 58) beat England 164-5 (Morgan 71*)