In the fifth and final match of the T20I series, West Indies defeated India by eight wickets at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida.
Hardik Pandya won the toss and asked the home side to bowl first, possibly a debatable decision given the fact that rain was on the cards yesterday. In the first innings, the rain did have an impact since it slowed down the Indian hitters’ progress, which bowlers like Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, and Akeal Hosein exploited to completely derail India’s hopes of scoring anywhere near 200 runs.
With just a decent target of 166 to achieve, WI had control of the game right from the start of the second inning. Although the team lost Kyle Mayers’ wicket cheaply, Brandon King (85) and Nicholas Pooran (47) smoked bowlers all around the park. Both batters added massive 107 runs for the second wicket partnership, which somehow secured the game. While, of course, the rain earlier on in the game had the presence of water in it, not to forget, it also rained sixes at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground. While King hit five fours and six sixes, Pooran, on the other hand, belted one four and four sixes. Towards the end, Shai Hope (22) took the proceedings forward post Pooran’s wicket. Playing at the strike rate of 169, Hope concluded the game, again with a six, in just 18 overs.
In the first inning with the bat, both openers once again looked clueless as they got out cheaply in the first few overs. Suryakumar Yadav (61) had a gracious knock for the Men in Blue as he scored a dutiful fifty. The knock included four fours and three sixes. Furthermore, Tilak Varma (27) also got a few runs along with Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya, and Axar Patel, which took India to a decent total of 165 in 20 overs.
With the ball in the first innings, Shepherd was at his best as he plucked four wickets. Holder and Hosein also took two wickets each while Roston Chase also managed to bag one wicket.
For India with the ball, Arshdeep Singh and Tilak Varma were the only players to show the dressing room’s way to WI batters. Both players took only one wicket each.
Romario Shepherd was named Player of the Match for his electrifying bowling show. Following this win, WI have won the T20I series by 3-2.
Scorecard:
India: 165/9, Overs 20, Suryakumar Yadav 61, Romario Shepherd 4/31
West Indies: 171/2, Overs 18, Brandon King 85*, Tilak Varma 1/17