India suffered a close defeat in their 200th T20I match losing to West Indies by 4 runs as the Caribbean side took a 1-0 lead in the series
Team India suffered a 4-run defeat at the hands of West Indies in a closely fought contest between the two sides as Rovman Powell’s side took a 1-0 lead in the series.
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The Windies scored 149/6 after batting first and were able to successfully restrict India to 145/9, thus picking up a crucial win in the T20I series opener.
Earlier, West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba and elected to bat first. The hosts got off to a shaky start as Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice in his first over to remove Brandon King and Kyle Mayers.
Johnson Charles was the next to depart after a stunning catch from Tilak Varma gave Kuldeep Yadav his solitary wicket of the evening. The Windies were reeling at 58/3 when Nicholas Pooran came out all guns blazing and smashed 41 runs in 34 balls.
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Pooran’s counter-attacking knock was brought to an end by captain Hardik Pandya with Tilak catching the catch again in the deep, however, Powell continued his assault.
Shimron Hetmyer was dismissed after adding 10 runs to the cause and the West Indies captain was the last player to depart at 48, narrowly missing a well-deserved fifty.
Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal were the pick of the bowlers as they chipped in with a couple of wickets each, while Pandya and Kuldeep also got a wicket each.
With a target of 150 runs on the board, India looked confident of getting to the total as Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill opened for the Men in Blue. Gill had narrowly missed a century in the previous ODI at the same venue but his wayward form continued as he was dismissed for just 3 runs.
Kishan also managed to score just 6 before departing and suddenly the visitors looked shaky. Vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav came out to steady the ship, he was joined by debutant Tilak Varma who scored back-to-back sixes to get off the mark on his international bow.
Surya added 21 runs in as many balls but he perished to Jason Holder, and even though captain Pandya scored 19 in 19, once he was dismissed and Sanju Samson was run-out courtesy of a brilliant throw from Mayers, India were in deep trouble.
Axar Patel tried his best to get India over the line with a few late lusty blows but once he perished at 13, Arshdeep Singh kept the hopes alive courtesy of his late batting cameo.
In the end, however, Powell and Co. edged the number 1 ranked T20I team and ensured India’s 200th T20I game ended in a defeat.
