Jos Buttler believes England are in a "strong place" after they edged past West Indies in St. Lucia, beating them by three wickets to claim a series-winning victory.
The tourists took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, but had to rely heavily on luck during their 146-run chase, with Liam Livingstone dropped three times on the way to 39.
But it was England's bowlers who initially did the damage, with Saqib Mahmood putting in a player-of-the-match performance to finish with figures of 3-17, with his three wickets coming in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5.
Mahmood's three wickets came in the powerplay, in which the West Indies were skittled to 37-5. Mahmood was clearly delighted with the bowling performance after the match.
Captain Rovman Powell (54) helped the hosts recover, but they were ultimately unable to post a winning score and finished on 145-8.
It was not an easy ride for England, though, having initially slipped to 37-3 in their own powerplay, before Sam Curran knocked 41 off 26 balls to dig his side out of a hole.
It was left to Livingstone to finish the job, having been dropped twice by Nicholas Pooran on six and eight and again by Shimron Hetmyer on 21.
But England squeaked over the line with just four balls remaining, consolidating their lead in the series with just two matches remaining.
"[It was] a real collective effort to win the series, which is really pleasing. I've been so impressed with how we've set the tone in the powerplays in all three games so far," said captain Buttler.
"We're in a really strong place as a team. We've got really good competition for places too, when you consider the players who aren't here."
Mahmood's fast start was key to England's success on Thursday, and he was delighted with his personal performance after the match.
"As a bowling unit we've always had the mindset of wanting to take early wickets," he said.
"We know their batting line-up is stacked all the way down, but we haven't backed down, and we have taken powerplay wickets in every game so far.
"I feel really free in this team now. It feels like my spot, and it feels like a really great chance to express myself out there."
West Indies captain Rovman Powell, meanwhile, was clear where his side need to tighten up.
"It's a bit disappointing, we keep losing wickets in the powerplay and in clusters. We need to be our natural selves," he said.
"We know we are stroke players and come out aggressively but that little element of being smart was missing."
Watkins start for England in Greece was 'no slight on Kane' - Carsley
Outgoing England interim manager Lee Carsley says his decision to start Ollie Watkins over Harry Kane against Greece was 'no slight' on his captain.
The Three Lions had suffered nine withdrawals from their initial squad announced last week, although Kane remained available for selection and came on for Watkins in the 66th minute.
But Carsley's decision paid off, with Watkins putting England ahead after just seven minutes, with his fifth international goal setting them on the way to a 3-0 win in Athens, with an own goal and Curtis Jones rounded off the scoring.
"It was brilliant for Ollie to get a goal," Carsley said. "It's important that I think if we are going to put these players in a position where we are going to go and win the World Cup, then these players need to have as many experiences as they can.
"So, it was no slight on Harry. He'll start the next game and I think there are a lot of positives to take from that performance."
When asked how the England captain reacted to not being named in the starting XI, Carsley explained that Kane had no issues with it.
"He was absolutely fine. It would be fair to say he wants to play every game, like all top players do," he said.
"I think he understands that it's important that other players experience that kind of experience that we had tonight.
"He's a great example to the rest of the players and I expect him to start on Sunday and play well."
The decision to start Watkins over Kane came alongside other selection decisions, as Rico Lewis, Noni Madueke, Jones, Lewis Hall and Morgan Rogers all featured for a youthful England side, with the latter three making their senior debuts.
Despite Carsley's roots as England Under-21 coach, he assured the post-match media that there was no nepotism on his part to include the more inexperienced players.
"No, none at all, to be fair," the interim boss said. "None at all.
"I see the quality that the players have got. You're now seeing it in terms of the younger ones, that they're more than capable with the mentality and quality they've got to play in stages like tonight.
"I thought a lot of the players, especially the younger ones - well, all of the players, to be fair - played with such quality tonight.
Maxwell leads Australia to opening T20I victory
Glenn Maxwell's impressive 43 powered Australia to a 29-run victory over Pakistan in their opening T20I, which was heavily affected by rain.
Both teams were able to play seven overs each after a thunderstorm in Brisbane delayed proceedings, but it did not affect Australia's performance as they took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Matt Short (7) and Jake Fraser-McGurk (9) were both taken early, but Maxwell's 43 off 19 balls, which included eight boundaries, turned the tide.
Abbas Afridi (2-9) took him and Tim David (10), but with Marcus Stoinis' 21, the damage was already done as Australia finished 93-4.
Pakistan struggled to gain any momentum, with none of their first six batters hitting double figures and Sahibzada Farhan's eight was the best of that group.
The wickets toppled thanks to Xavier Bartlett (3-13) and Nathan Ellis (3-9), and even though Afridi salvaged some pride with his unbeaten 20 to help them reach 64-9, they fell short of their target.
Data Debrief: Home advantage
Despite the shortened nature of the game, Australia still made their mark in some style. They extended their winning run in Brisbane in the process, with this their fifth T20I victory in a row at The Gabba.
On the other side, Babar Azam will have been hoping for a better performance on what was a landmark day for him - he has now made the outright most appearances for Pakistan in T20Is (124), overtaking Shoaib Malik. He also broke the record for the most catches by a fielder in T20Is for Pakistan (52), going past Fakhar Zaman's 50.
Buttler 'enjoyed' setting England on way to second West Indies win
Jos Buttler "enjoyed" being back out in the middle after powering England to a seven-wicket victory over West Indies in the second T20I.
The captain scored 83 off 45 balls, hitting eight fours and six sixes in his knock, as he turned the game back in England's favour, having been taken for a golden duck in his first match back from injury last time out.
West Indies struggled to gain momentum early on, with Rovman Powell's 43 settling them somewhat after a shaky start, but Saqib Mahmood (2-20), Liam Livingstone (2-16) and Dan Mousley (2-29) kept England in a good position, helping keep their target down as the hosts finished on 158-8.
The chase got off to the worst possible start though, as Phil Salt was dismissed on the first ball, but Buttler stepped in to put up a 129-run stand with Will Jacks before they were both dismissed by Romario Shepherd in the 13th over.
Livingstone (23) and Jacob Bethell (3) then helped get the tourists over the line, reaching 161 with 31 balls remaining to extend their series lead to 2-0.
Buttler was pleased to find his rhythm this time around but is already looking ahead to how they can stay in control in the third match.
"It is great to spend time in the middle. I was a bit scratchy for the first few balls, but I managed to come through that period and really enjoyed it. It was great to be back out there," Buttler told TNT Sports.
"I have lots of experience, I have played for a while and batted in lots of different positions. I am just waiting to see what happens and playing what is in front of me.
"We have got to start again [in the third T20I of the series]. We are playing a top team in the West Indies, who are excellent in T20 cricket. They will come back hard, and we have to be ready from ball one in the next game."
West Indies stumbled through the powerplay, losing their first three wickets in the first four overs for just 35 runs.
Powell was disappointed not to make a better start, pointing out that they gave themselves a mountain to climb.
"Obviously the surface gave a bit to the fast bowlers, something that is a trend here in Barbados," he said. Teams generally win the toss and bowl because of what can happen in the first six [overs].
"It's a case of us trying to come out of powerplay not three down. The statistics show that if you do that, the majority of the time you come out on the losing side. As a batting group, we have to adjust.
"Somebody in the top four or five needs to bat the majority of the overs. In the past, we have done that but have struggled to do that in this series. The next three games provide an opportunity for batters to do that."
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