Finance
Suryakumar Yadav came back from his recent struggles in ODIs and the first two T20Is with an explosive 83 off 44 balls, while Tilak Varma scored an unbeaten 49 as India defeated West Indies by seven wickets in the 3rd T20I at Providence Stadium on Tuesday.
This victory kept India alive in the five-match series, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Following the early removal of rookie opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, India quickly regrouped thanks to Suryakumar Yadav’s superb effort in which he created an outstanding 87-run third-wicket combination with Tilak (49 not out).
India chased down the 160-run goal in 17.5 overs, with to Surya and Tilak’s excellent performances, reviving their series chances following two defeats in the first two matches.
Chasing 160 in the 3rd T20I, India got off to a shaky start, losing Jaiswal early in the opening over. Then Yadav appeared and promptly started an attack with his powerful blows.
Gill fell cheaply once more, this time in the fifth over as he tried to draw it away but got the top edge, allowing Jonatan Charles to take a comfortable catch.
Varma, who had the most goals in the previous two games, continued his hot streak and began with back-to-back boundaries. Suryakumar and Varma each hit three home runs, bringing the Power-play total to 60/2.
Yadav soon added his 14th T20 fifty off just 23 balls with a superb boundary. He kept up his aggressive attitude, reaching the milestone of 100 international sixes by skillfully dispatching a slower ball for a spectacular maximum. Building on that achievement, he promptly struck a boundary. At the halfway point, India found themselves in a dominant position at 97-2.
Surya’s magnificent innings came to an end in the 13th over, when he aimed Alzarri Joseph’s full delivery towards fine leg, where King stood steady and easily completed the catch.
Tilak took center stage after Surya was dismissed and went for a couple huge shots, but he missed out on his second fifty as skipper Hardik Pandya concluded the chase with a maximum to keep India in the series.
Earlier, West Indies batted first and got off to a good start, with openers Kyle Mayers and Brandon King stitching a 55-run opening stand. India, on the other hand, made a comeback, with Kuldeep Yadav getting two wickets in an over.
But the hosts found their groove thanks to skipper Rovman Powell’s unbeaten 19-ball 40, which propelled West Indies to 159/5 in 20 overs.
Brief score: West Indies 159/5 in 20 overs (Brandon King 42, Rovman Powell 40*; Kuldeep Yadav 3-28) lost to India 164/3 in 17.5 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 83, Tilak Varma 49 not out; Alzarri Joseph 2-25) by 7 wickets.
Source:IANS
