After profitable the toss, the West Indies captain Rovman Powell made the daring choice to bat first on what gave the impression to be a difficult pitch. Powell (48 off 32) then performed a captain’s knock to assist the hosts placed on a aggressive complete of 149 for six of their allotted 20 overs.
As it occurred: India vs West Indies, 1st T20I
The Indian bowlers initially struggled to place the hosts beneath stress as the brand new ball did not provide a lot help through the powerplay. The opening tempo duo of Mukesh Kumar and Arshdeep Singh failed to search out breakthroughs.
India captain Hardik Pandya needed to carry spin into the assault within the fourth over. But Axar Patel was greeted with a powerful inside-out six over cowl by Brandon King, who regarded decided to capitalise on any unfastened deliveries.
However, the introduction of leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal turned the tide in India’s favour. Kyle Myers, who was struggling to learn Chahal’s variations, tried a slog sweep solely to overlook the ball, and the on-field umpire adjudged him lbw. The replays, although, indicated that the ball was lacking the stumps, however Myers selected to not overview the choice.
Chahal struck once more in the identical over when Brandon King did not learn a straight supply and was trapped in entrance, leaving the West Indies at 54 for 2 in six overs.
Nicholas Pooran, recent from his sensational hundred within the Major League Cricket last, regarded in chic contact from the outset. He took the assault to Axar Patel, smashing him for a six and a 4 within the cow nook area. Pooran’s aggressive intent added impetus to the West Indies’ innings.
Just because the West Indies appeared poised for a formidable complete, India managed to drag issues again with some disciplined bowling within the dying overs. Arshdeep Singh, particularly, showcased his potential to execute yorkers and slower deliveries with precision, accounting for 2 essential wickets.
Chasing 150 for victory, the Indian batting order confronted a stern take a look at in opposition to a decided West Indies bowling assault. The opening duo of Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill have been anticipated to supply a powerful begin. However, they perished cheaply, falling to the artful West Indian pacers.
Suryakumar Yadav joined forces with debutant Tilak Varma to regular the ship. The duo exhibited admirable composure as they rebuilt the innings cautiously.
Varma, making his worldwide debut, regarded remarkably comfy on the crease. The 20-year-old southpaw performed with a fearless strategy, taking over the West Indies’ quickest bowler, Alzarri Joseph, and launching him for consecutive sixes over deep sq. leg.
Varma’s fearless innings additionally featured a panoramic aerial drive for an additional six off pacer Romario Shepherd. Varma’s fearless knock although ended on 39 off 22 balls.
And India’s hopes of victory started to decrease when Holder’s important sixteenth overturned the match in favour of the West Indies. The West Indies skipper eliminated the harmful Hardik Pandya, who had been wanting threatening, earlier than an excellent run-out by the house aspect dismissed Sanju Samson.
With 37 runs wanted off the final 30 balls and 6 wickets in hand, India self-destructed beneath the stress. A struggling lower-middle order struggled to maintain up with the required run price. A late flourish from tail-ender Arshdeep Singh, who scored 12 runs off the penultimate over, added some pleasure to the chase, however it wasn’t sufficient.
Romario Shepherd, entrusted with the duty of bowling the ultimate over, held his nerve and defended ten runs. India completed their innings at 145 for 9 in the long run, 4 runs in need of the goal.
(With inputs from PTI)
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com