Evin Lewis (left) and Shai Hope (right) of the West Indies celebrate their 100-run partnership. — AFP

The West Indies managed to restore some pride by securing a thrilling five-wicket victory against England in their Twenty20 international in St Lucia on Saturday. A powerful 55 from opener Phil Salt and an even more aggressive unbeaten 62 from Jacob Bethell, who reached his second T20I half-century with three consecutive sixes, helped England post a formidable 218 for five from their 20 overs. In response, West Indies openers Shai Hope (54 off 24 balls) and Evin Lewis (68 off 31 balls) smashed 136 off the first nine overs, putting the hosts in a commanding position. Captain Rovman Powell's 38 off 23 balls guided his team to their highest-ever successful run chase in the Caribbean with six balls remaining.

Despite this victory, England still lead the series 3-1 heading into the fifth and final T20I on Sunday. "We've been losing early wickets, so we needed to find the best way to counter their bowlers," Hope explained. "I just focus on doing what the team needs. Different situations call for different approaches. I aim to do what is required at any given moment."

With the series already secured, England's aggressive top order could afford to play more freely after being put into bat first. Salt, who scored a century in the opening T20 of the series, was in particularly good form, reaching 50 off just 32 balls. Salt, who now has 640 runs against the West Indies in T20 cricket—more than any other England batsman against a single opponent—helped the tourists score over 100 runs in the first 10 overs of a T20I for only the seventh time. Captain Jos Buttler continued the big hitting, but it was Bethell who stole the show, hitting nine boundaries to all parts of the ground on his way to his highest T20I score to date.

Despite England's strong position and the West Indies' struggles in the series before Saturday's match, few gave the hosts a chance of victory. However, Lewis and Hope hit 10 sixes between them, contributing 68 and 54 runs respectively to secure the win. Three wickets in three balls saw Hope, Lewis, and Nicholas Pooran dismissed, with Hope run out for the second match in a row, swinging the momentum back to England. However, the hosts' score of 138 for three was still their highest after 10 overs of a T20I innings. Powell, the only West Indies batsman to perform consistently throughout the series, again took the attack to England, before Sherfane Rutherford hit back-to-back sixes to secure victory.

"It was an excellent wicket and we got off to a great start with our openers putting them under plenty of pressure," Buttler said. "We thought we needed at least 220. Their openers then played exceptionally well too. We were trying to do some things differently, creating some opportunities with fielders in other areas of the field."

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