A great knock by Pooran and a great ending by Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph put West Indies to a 2 wicket win over India. West Indies now 2-0 in the series and they are one win away from getting the series to their name. India posted 152/7 in 20 overs in response to this West Indies posted 155/8 with 7 balls to spare.
India already lost the 1st T20 by 4 runs and with this loss they need to be more disciplined in their next match.
India wins the toss and Pandya elected to bat first. Indian openers again failed to give a good start to the team. In the 3rd over, Shubman Gill got out by Alzaari Joseph. After hitting a six in the previous delivery, Gill again wanted to hit a lofted but failed and Hetmyer took the catch. It was Joseph’s 100th international T20 wicket. Gill made 7 runs. (16-1). In the next over, Suryakumar Yadav got run out by a direct throw from Mayers. He scored only 1 run. (18-2).
As Ishan and Pandya put 42 runs together for the 3rd wicket, then Shepherd came and broke the partnership. Ishan was his wicket. He scored 27 runs. (60-3). Then Samson tries to hit a lofted shot against Akeal Hosein, but unfortunately he fails and the ball goes to Pooran, who simply uproot the stumps. Samson made only 7 runs. (76-4).
Tilak Varma who made his debut in this T20 series, scored his 1st international half century in his 2nd T20. but after completing his 50 he lost his wicket to Akeal Hosein. He departed after making a superb knock of 51 runs which included 5 fours and a six. (114-5). Then the skipper himself got bowled by a yorker of Joseph. Pandya made 24 runs. (129-6).
In the last over, Axar was the last man dismissed. Shepherd gets the credit for his dismissal. Axar scored 14 runs. (139-7). Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh remained not out at the end. Bishnoi made 8 runs and Arshdeep made 6 runs. India scored 152 runs with the loss of 7 wickets in 20 overs.
Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph and Shepherd got 2 wickets each.
West Indies on the other hand got a very poor start and Brandon King got out on the very first ball. Pandya took his wicket. Suryakumar Yadav took a fantastic diving catch. King goes on a golden duck. (0-1). In that same over, Pandya again strikes by taking the wicket of Charles. This time Tilak Varma took the catch. Charles made only 2 runs. (2-2).
After that a slower knuckle ball by Arshdeep Singh trapped Mayers and got LBW. Mayers scored 15 runs. (32-3). Then a bombastic performance for the 4th wicket between Pooran and Captain Powell, who contributed 57 runs together. But Pandya again came and broke the partnership. Powell gets out after scoring 21 runs. (89-4).
Then the destructive innings of Pooran comes to an end. Mukesh Kumar gets his team relief by taking his wicket. Pooran was looking in ruthless form and hitting 18 runs in Bishnoi’s over. He scored 67 runs in 40 balls which includes 6 fours and 4 sixes. (126-5). After a wrong call from Hetmyer, Shepherd ran out. Axar threw the ball perfectly and Ishan didn’t miss that. Shepherd unable to make any runs. (128-6).
In that same over, Holder tries to hit the ball outside the stadium but he misses the ball and Ishan removes the bails rapidly. Chahal dismisses him. Holder was also unable to make any runs. (128-7). After dismissing Holder, in that same over, Chahal gets the wicket of Hetmyer. Hetmyer scored 22 runs. (129-8).
Then the bowlers, Hosein and Joseph not only took wickets but also got the winning runs for their team. Hosein (16 runs) and Joseph (10 runs) contributed 26 runs together to get the victory. They won the match with 7 balls remaining.
Nicholas Pooran, Awarded Player of the Match,
"Satisfied that I performed. Something that I have been looking for in the last couple of years, so be there and finish games. I want to be consistent. I have been working so hard, I have made a lot of mistakes, lost a games for my teams. I want to entertain the fans as much as possible. It's about being positive and confident."