Sunday 24 / November / 2024
Kolkata: Suryakumar Yadav's 65-run knock was backed up by a spirited bowling performance as India defeated West Indies by 17 runs in the third and final T20I here at the Eden Gardens, Kolkata on Sunday.
With this win, India won the three-match T20I series 3-0. Earlier, the Men in Blue had defeated West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series as well. Chasing 185, West Indies got off to the worst start possible as the visitors lost opening batter Kyle Mayers (6) on the fifth ball of the innings bowled by Deepak Chahar.
In his next over, Chahar removed Shai Hope (8) and West Indies was reduced to 26/2 in the third over. Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell then got together at the crease and after powerplay overs, visitors' score read 68/2.
The 47-run stand for the third wicket was broken by Harshal Patel in the seventh over as he got the better of Powell (25). Venkatesh Iyer then got among the wickets as he got the prized scalp of skipper Kieron Pollard (5), and as a result, Windies were reduced to 82/4, still needing 103 runs to win.
Pooran (61) and Romario Shephard (29) tried their best, but in the end, the task proved too much, and India registered a 17-run win.
Earlier, Suryakumar Yadav (65) and Venkatesh Iyer (35*) starred with the bat as India posted 184/5 in the allotted twenty overs. Sent into bat, India did not get off to an ideal start as the hosts lost opening batter Ruturaj Gaikwad (4) in the third over off the bowling of Jason Holder. Shreyas Iyer joined Ishan Kishan in the middle and after the end of powerplay overs, India's score read 43/1.
The 53-run stand for the second wicket between Shreyas and Ishan came to an end in the 9th over as Hayden Walsh Jr sent Shreyas (25) back to the pavilion and this brought skipper Rohit Sharma to the middle. Kishan (34) was then bowled by Roston Chase in the next over and India was reduced to 66/3 in the 10th over.
Rohit and Suryakumar Yadav put on 27 runs for the fourth wicket, however, this partnership was broken by Dominic Drakes as he bowled Rohit (7) in the 14th over. Venkatesh Iyer then joined Suryakumar in the middle and the duo brought some momentum to the innings. In the last five overs, the hosts managed to add 86 more runs to the total, taking the score past the 180-run mark. Iyer and Suryakumar Yadav formed a 91-run partnership for the fifth wicket.
Brief Scores: India 184/5 (Suryakumar Yadav 65, Venkatesh Iyer 35*; Roston Chase 1-23); West Indies 167/9 (Nicholas Pooran 61, Romario Shephard 29; Harshal Patel 3-22).
