Finance
Tilak Varma (51) hit his maiden T20I half-century, but Nicholas Pooran blasted a magnificent 40-ball 67 and West Indies escaped a big scare, losing four wickets for two runs late, to reach 155/8 and take a 2-0 series lead.
Tilak Varma held the innings together coming in at 76/4 and responding with a superb knock in only his 2nd T20I outing, as India barely managed to reach 152/7 in 20 overs thanks to Romario Shepherd (2-28), Alzarri Joseph (2-28), and Akeal Hosein (2-29).
Despite the loss of top spinner Kuldeep Yadav due to injury. India got off to a flying start with the ball, with skipper Hardik Pandya taking two wickets in the first and fourth deliveries of the West Indies reply. And when Arshdeep Singh caught Kyle Mayers (15) in front of the wicket in the fourth over, West Indies were 32/3 and faced a disaster.
To help the hosts recover, Nicholas Pooran smashed a stunning half-century, putting up a reckless exhibition of power-hitting as he scored 67 off 40 deliveries. He shared a 57-run fourth-wicket stand with skipper Rovman Powell that put his team on track to victory.
Pooran muscled away at the ball, striking strokes at free against the Indian spinners, smashing six boundaries and four sixes. On the first two overs of the sixth over, he hit leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi for four and six, and then smashed boundaries off the fourth and fifth deliveries of that memorable over. He had previously hit two consecutive boundaries off Mukesh Kumar. Pooran heaves Pandya for a six over wide long-on after Hardik had landed double blows in the first over, and then cuts a shortish and wide ball outside off beyond point for a four in the third over.
The West Indies lost three wickets in a sensational 16th over, with Romao Shepherd run out going for a second run in which his partner was not interested, Jason Holder given out by TV umpire, stumped by Ishan Kishan off Chahal, and then the Indians got ‘three reds’ in DRS to send back Hetmyer, trapped lbw by Chahal, to reduce West Indies to 129/8. West Indies were on the verge of loss after losing three wickets for two runs.
However, Akeal Hosein (16 not out) and Alzarri Joseph (10 not out) got them over in a nail-biting finale with a 26-run partnership for the unfinished ninth wicket as the hosts reached 155/8 in 18.5 overs to take 2-0 lead in the five-match series. This was the first time since 2016 that West Indies defeated India in two successive T20I matches.
Earlier, after opting to bat first, India got off to a shaky start in 2nd T20I, losing three wickets for only 60 runs at the halfway point. Shubman Gill (7) and Suryakumar Yadav (1) failed to connect, but Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma scripted a comeback.
In the first over, Kishan was unlucky as his defensive prod dropped just short of Rovman Powell. He blasted Akael Hosein for a massive six over deep square leg in the first over then swiped Romario Shepherd for his second six in the tenth. In between, he hit boundaries off Alzarri Joseph and Kyle Mayers before being caught for 27 while playing all over Romario Shepherd’s and had his off-stump rocked back off the very next delivery after being struck for a six.
Varma, who top-scored for India in the first T20I with 39 off 22 balls, batted with one end up as he blasted a beautiful half-century, smashing five fours and a single six during his 41-ball effort. He hit the 39-ball mark as India passed the 100-run barrier.
He started by hitting a boundary off Alzari Joseph, followed by smashing consecutive boundaries off Jason Holder in the 11th over. Additionally, he scooped Mayers behind the wicket in the eighth over and executed a reverse sweep over deep third man for a four. Amidst his performance, the long-on fielder ran in from deep midwicket to long-on, narrowly missing a challenging chance.
Hardik Pandya delivered a couple lusty punches in scoring 24 off 18 deliveries but was out in the 18th over after smashing two sixes. India reached a modest total after failing to accelerate after losing wickets at critical junctures.
In the end, it wasn’t enough, as the West Indies took a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Brief scores in 2nd T20I: India 152/7 in 20 overs (Ishan Kishan 27, Tilak Varma 51, Hardik Pandya 24; Romario Shepherd 2-28, Alzarri Joseph 2-28, Akeal Hosein 2-29) lost to West Indies 155/8 in 18.5 overs (Nicholas Pooran 67, Rovman Powell 21, Shimron Hetmyer 22, Akeal Hosein 16 not out; Hardik Pandya 3-35; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-19) by two wickets.
Source: IANS
