CHESTER-LE-STREET, United Kingdom (AFP) — Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid shared six wickets between them as England fought back to restrict West Indies to 176 for nine in the lone Twenty20 international at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.

Chris Gayle (40) and Evin Lewis (51) got West Indies off to a flying start as they raced to 72 without loss in just six overs after England captain Eoin Morgan won the toss and fielded.

But the Yorkshire duo of fast bowler Plunkett, who took three for 27 in his maximum four overs, and leg-spinner Rashid, whose return of three for 25 was his best at this level, helped England regain the initiative in a match that represented a repeat of last year’s World Twenty20 final — won by West Indies.

Rovman Powell tried to repair some of the damage with 28 down the order before he was out shortly before rain briefly halted play with West Indies 165 for eight off 18.5 overs.

After a relatively sedate start, which saw West Indies 11 for none in two overs, the innings came to life in the third over when Gayle smashed left-arm pace man David Willey for two successive sixes — a pull followed by a powerful straight drive.

Lewis got into gear in the sixth over as he hit 16 runs in three balls off Tom Curran — a straight driven six followed by a flick off his pads for four before the Surrey pace man was hoisted legside for six on a cool evening in northeast England.

But Gayle’s 21-ball innings, featuring three fours and four sixes ended when, after guiding Plunkett to backward point, he was run out by Jason Roy’s throw to the bowler as he ambled through for a single after stopping half way.

The 37-year-old Gayle, in common with several senior West Indies players, had been involved in a bitter dispute with Caribbean cricket chiefs.

But July saw him return to West Indies duty in a Twenty20 international against India in Kingston.

That match saw fellow left-hander Lewis manage the impressive feat of out-hitting Gayle on his way to a stunning and unbeaten 125.

Saturday saw Lewis threaten another big score while making fifty off 26 balls, including six fours and three sixes.

The Trinidadian, however, was out soon afterwards when he drove Plunkett straight to England Test skipper Root at mid-off.

And four balls later, West Indies’ 106 for two had become 115 for three with Marlon Samuels, cramped for room, out for just 10 when he mistimed a drive to Root, at mid-on for the right-handed batsman.

From then on the innings fell away.

Carlos Brathwaite– whose four sixes off successive balls from Ben Stokes in the last over had seen West Indies beat England in last year’s World Twenty20 final — fell for just two on Saturday when bowled trying to sweep Rashid.

Brathwaite, now West Indies Twenty20 captain, was in the middle of an 8,000-mile round trip for this match alone after not being selected for the Test and one-day international legs of the tour.