 | « Back to article | Print this article |
England's death bowling prowess played a crucial role in their progress to the World Twenty20 final and could be a potent weapon against the big-hitting West Indies batsmen at Eden Gardens on Sunday.
While England have eked out victories in their last two matches by being miserly in the final overs, West Indies have largely banked on their powerful batsmen to chase down targets in the tournament.
Ben Stokes and Chris Jordan defended 22 runs in the final two overs as England beat Sri Lanka by 10 runs while the fast bowling duo gave away just 20 in the last four in the semi-final against New Zealand.
England captain Eoin Morgan said that gave his side extra confidence going into the title clash against the hard-hitting Caribbean team.
"It's a small ground here given that it could be a good wicket, that's going to be a key area for us," Morgan told reporters on Saturday.
"I think the last game we went for 20 runs in four overs, two from Stokes, two from Jordan. I thought they were very clear in their thoughts and executed exceptionally well."
The England captain thinks Stokes and Jordan have been the best death bowlers in the tournament.
"Having that in your side is another strength to your bowling, not a lot of sides come through having great death bowlers," the 29-year-old added.
"You look at past champions that stick out, someone like (Sri Lankan) Lasith Malinga but since he's been injured in the tournament, nobody has really stood out as unbelievable death bowler.
"Those two guys have, for us."
West Indies captain Darren Sammy said his team had their own plans to overcome the challenge.
"We are not taking anything away from England, they have improved every game since that defeat to us," Sammy said, referring to England's opening loss in the Super 10 stage.
"They have their strengths and it's up to us to come up with a better plan than what they execute," he added.
"We have good bowling as well, I think we bowled really, really well in this tournament as well and it's going to be match-up of skill v skill and man power versus man power."