India miss out on series win as West Indies put up resolute batting display to chase down modest total

Despite a magical turnaround in the third and the fourth T20I, India failed to cross the final hurdle as West Indies snuffed out a 6-year-long wait to win a T20I series against the Men in Blue. What was supposed to be a blockbuster display of two teams putting their very best on the line fizzled out in a one-sided contest with India submitting meekly against the high-flying Islanders.

In a surprising decision, Hardik Pandya won the toss and opted to bat first. India came to the fixture with an unchanged side while West Indies reintroduced Alzarri Joseph and Roston Chase to the team in place of Odean Smith and Obed McCoy.

India’s openers misfired again as they were back to the hut in no time with India teetering at 17/2. Yashasvi Jaiswal’s attempt at going big against Akeal Hosein backfired as the ball caught a whiff of his edge and flew straight down his throat. Shubman Gill was caught in front of the wicket and declared LBW,  despite later replays showing that had the Indian opener opted for a DRS, he would have been saved.

Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma were once again the saviours for India, knitting together an important partnership in the center. The duo’s presence showed India a glistening path as they knitted a partnership of 49 runs for the third wicket, helping India to pile up 66 on the board before Varma holed out to Roston Chase off his own bowling.

The fall of Varma proved to be the unravelling of the Pandora’s Box for the Indian cricketers as wickets started falling at regular intervals. Surya continued a lonely war from the other end but that wasn’t enough for the visitors to try and dismantle the hosts.

At the end of 20 overs, India could only manage 166 runs with Surya being the highest scorer for the Men in Blue that saw him blasting 61 from 45 balls, a knock that featured four fours and three sixes. Hosein and Holder sparked the initial damage before Shepherd inflicted a punishing four-fer to leave India wobbling.

The Indian bowlers couldn’t hit their respective strides at all despite Arshdeep Singh providing an early blow that saw him claiming Kyle Mayers cheaply. The second wicket stand between Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran was enough to rule India out of the equation.

Rain and thunder played spoilsport in the center but none of the factors were enough to tip West Indies off the scent of a humdinger victory. King was the aggressor-in-chief while Pooran chipped in with the big hits occasionally. The duo posted a staggering 107-runs partnership for the second wicket before Varma registered his maiden international wicket to send Pooran packing for 47.

However, the departure of Pooran did very little to deter the soaring Caribbean spirits as Shai Hope walked out in the center and dispelled any ghosts of an unwanted collapse with a solid knock while King’s unbeaten 85 from 55 balls was enough for West Indies to seize the match and also wrest control of a historical series.