India vs West Indies: Suryakumar Yadav returned to his disappointing best as India kept the series alive with a seven-wicket win over West Indies in the third T20I here on Tuesday.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell’s blistering 19-ball 40 not out took the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs.
Debutant Yashvi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) were dismissed cheaply in the run chase before Suryakumar hit a special 44-ball 83 as India reached the target in 17.5 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav returned to his disappointing best as India kept the series alive with a seven-wicket win over West Indies in the third T20I here on Tuesday.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell’s blistering 19-ball 40 not out took the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs.
Debutant Yashvi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) were dismissed cheaply in the run chase before Suryakumar hit a special 44-ball 83 as India reached the target in 17.5 overs.
Tilak Verma (49 not out off 37 balls) was happy to finish second after sharing an 87-run partnership with his senior Mumbai Indians teammate. Tilak missed out on his second successive half-century in his debut series as skipper Hardik Pandya (20 not out off 15 balls) hit the winning six.
West Indies lead the five-match series 2-1 and the next match will be played in Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday.
Suryakumar, who has had a quiet tour so far, hits his very first ball for a boundary. Suryakumar is almost impossible to contain when he finds loopholes at will and that’s what the West Indies bowlers had to deal with on Tuesday.
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His innings included 10 fours and four sixes, the highlight of which was a direct shot over the head of fast bowler Obed McCoy.
Captain Hardik and Tilak did the necessary work after Suryakumar was dismissed in the 13th over. The left-handed batsman, who started his innings with four consecutive fours, once again showed that he is here to stay.
Earlier, Kuldeep took away the momentum from the West Indies in the 15th over by dismissing the dangerous Nicholas Pooran (20 off 12) and the well-set Brandon King (42 off 42).
In an unusual incident, the start of the game was delayed because the 30-yard circle had not been marked.
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After electing to bat, West Indies enjoyed their best start of the series with a 55-run partnership with King and Kyle Mayers (25 off 20).
As expected, the surface was slow, prompting Hardik to introduce spin in the third over itself through Axar Patel, who hit a few boundaries.
Leggie Yuzvendra Chahal, who doesn’t usually bowl the first six overs, was handed the task on Tuesday. But Mears put Chahal under direct pressure by hitting him for a six.
After the powerplay, third spinner Kuldeep came to bowl and Meyers hit him for a four on his very first ball. Three balls later, a courageous King stepped up to send Kuldeep’s googly straight for a six.
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After the dismissals of Mayers and Johnson Charles, Pooran joined King and tried to assert his authority over the Indian bowlers.
He came down the track to hit Kuldeep over long-on, before hitting a four off the next ball.
However, Kuldeep had the last laugh as the spinner thrashed Pooran hard to get him out stumped. Four balls later, Kuldeep took a sharp return catch to send King back, leaving West Indies at 106 for four in 14.5 overs.
Captain Powell then increased the total with three sixes in the last two overs. Arshdeep Singh scored 17 runs in the 19th over, giving the home side a chance to move ahead. The hosts scored 53 runs in the last 30 balls.
India vs West Indies: Final Scores
West Indies: 159 for 5 in 20 overs (Brandon King 42, Rovman Powell 40*; Kuldeep Yadav 3/28).
India: 164 for 3 in 17.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 83; Alzarri Joseph 2/25.)
