Tilak Varma’s fifty on tricky track went in vain as West Indies overcame a mid-chase slide of 4 for 3 to edge home by two wickets
West Indies 155 or 8 (Pooran 67, Pandya 3-35, Chahal 2-19) beat India 152 for 7 (Tilak 51, Joseph 2-28, Shepherd 2-28) by two wickets
West Indies beat India in back-to-back T20Is for the first time since 2016, thus giving themselves every chance of triumphing over India in a T20I series (two games or more) for the first time in seven years. But none of this was without drama. With 27 runs to get off 37 balls and six wickets still in hand in the chase of 153, West Indies lost 4 for 3 in the space of 13 deliveries, their smooth progress hitting serious turbulence.
Who would have thought then that they would win with seven balls to spare? Eventually, it took an unbroken ninth-wicket partnership of 26 between Nos. 9 and 10 Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph to get their side home.
But before rescuing West Indies with the bat, both Hosein and Joseph grabbed two wickets each – as did Romario Shepherd – to set the base for the win by restricting India to 152. Nicholas Pooran then led the effort with the bat, clobbering 67 off 40 balls with six fours and four sixes to keep India under pressure for most of the chase.
Powell’s calls, bowlers’ execution spot on
Rovman Powell had lost the toss, but his tactics ensured India’s batters hardly ever felt settled on a pitch where the ball was gripping and turning. Throughout India’s innings, there were only two occasions when a West Indies bowler bowled at least two overs in a row. And even that first happened only when Jason Holder bowled the ninth and 11th overs, with the constant rotation of bowlers not allowing India any momentum.
Obed McCoy, Holder, Hosein and Joseph executed the plan to perfection, combining to grab 4 for 111 across 16 overs – an economy rate of less than seven an over – across multiple change-ups. There were fast ones zipping and skidding through on the two-paced pitch – from the pace bowlers and the left-arm spinner Hosein alike – as well as slower balls, cutters and turning deliveries, which India’s batters could not get a hold of.
West Indies got everything they could have hoped for on Sunday to keep India in check: the slowness of the pitch playing a part in a leading edge from Shubman Gill, a direct-hit to run Suryakumar Yadav out, turn to have Sanju Samson stumped, and pace and accuracy to clean up Hardik Pandya and Ishan Kishan. Batting was difficult on this track in general too, as India struggling to 53 for 2 off the first nine overs indicated.
Tilak’s maturity holds India together
On debut in the previous game, Tilak Varma wasn’t afraid of pulling back-to-back sixes to open his runs tally despite India having not started well in the chase. He hit 39 from 22 balls there, in Tarouba, as India fell just short. Three days later, Tilak was happy to play anchor. He came in at 18 for 2 in the fourth over, with Gill and Suryakumar’s lean returns continuing.
Despite hitting two boundaries, Tilak was only on 21 off his first 24 balls. But even then those fours hinted at his confidence: the first was a clean loft over mid-on, the next a bold scoop over short-fine leg. He ultimately upped the tempo and finished with 51 from 41, though he did enjoy some luck.
When on 25, his pull shot was anticipated by Shepherd at short fine leg, where he stuck his right hand up only for the ball to brush it and trickle to the rope; on 30, McCoy ran and dived to his left from long-on, but dropped another tough chance. But a reverse-sweep for four and a heave over short fine for six soon after showed Tilak still wasn’t afraid to take his chances.
Pooran shakes India up
Pooran had arrived at the crease with West Indies 2 for 2 after four balls, and managed only a single from his first five deliveries. But he then came to life as if abruptly waking up from deep sleep. Pandya was heaved over long-on for six and slashed through point for four in the third over; Mukesh Kumar was slapped and drilled through cover for fours in the fifth; and Ravi Bishnoi was deposited for 4, 6, 4, 4 to end the powerplay.
That gave West Indies 61 runs off the first six overs, and Pooran got to his half-century off 29 balls to start the tenth over. It all looked rosy for West Indies while he was at the crease, before his dismissal triggered that mini-collapse and set nerves jangling in their dressing room. Fortunately for them, a stoic Hosein and Joseph were up to their task.
Source – ESPNCricinfo
