Trinidad: Inspired by Jason Holder West Indies successfully defended their total of 149/6 and took a 1-0 lead in the T20I series thanks to an amazing second-half heist. India's batting collapsed in Trinidad's challenging batting conditions during the second phase of the chase. Romario Shepherd did enough to prevent Arshdeep Singh from undoing the good work that West Indies had done at the end, leaving India five short.
West Indies' once-modest total of 149/6 started to look much more daunting after five overs of India's chase as they lost both of their openers cheaply. Shubman Gill was stumped in the third over after Akeal Hosein beat him in the air, and Ishan Kishan was out in the fifth after mistiming a heave to mid-on.
Suryakumar Yadav may still be getting used to the 50-over format and "learning" his way around it, but T20s continue to come naturally to him. He got things going by driving down the field and cutting over at the deep point for a four and a six.
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Debutant Tilak, joined him in the carnage and demonstrated that nerves are no longer an issue at this level by striking a scornful shot over deep mid-wicket off a ball bowled at 143 kph by Alzarri Joseph.
Joseph increased the pace and decreased the length to achieve a similar outcome, with the ball this time flying over deep square leg. Despite Hosein's restricted three overs for just 15 runs, the pair helped India reach 66/2 in 9 overs and put them in a fairly secure position.
Over the next two overs and two catches by Shimron Hetmyer, the hosts made a comeback. He first took a sharp, low one off an uppish drive from Suryakumar at cover, and he then took another one off a Varma miscue at deep backward square leg. In just 11 overs, India had scored 77 for 4, needing 73 off 54 balls.
Even as Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson tried to get India back on track, runs didn't come easily, and Hosein finished an impeccable spell of 1 for 17 in four overs. The pair managed the occasional boundary but were forced to eat away at the deficit more frequently with singles and twos as they struggled to center the ball. 52 off 36 was the final solution when a release over arrived. By taking 15 from McCoy, Hardik and Samson increased the pressure on the hosts.
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The game was still in India's hands at 37 off 30 with two recognizable batters in the middle, but Jason Holder returned to shock the visitors once more. He knocked out his opponent with an off-cutter before Samson was forced to leave by a direct hit from Mayers.
There were no runs deducted from it, allowing India's long tail to score 37 off 24. The chase gained momentum when Axar Patel, India's last hope, pursued Holder and hit a six down the ground in the 18th over, which scored 11 runs and reduced the equation to 21 off 12.
By outrunning Arshdeep to add another twist to what was already shaping up to be a dramatic conclusion to the chase, McCoy, however, silenced the India fans. Axar was dismissed by McCoy off the first ball of the chase. To keep the home team on their toes, the left-hander flicked one past the short fine leg fielder and then hit one over extra cover.
India needed to get 10 runs to reach the final over, but by the time Arshdeep got the final strike, India was eight runs behind and still needed 9 runs from 4 balls. When India needed six points to win, Romario Shepherd then struck out the final batter, Mukesh Kumar, on the last pitch. He also limited Arshdeep with his wide yorkers. After all,India fell five runs short in chase.
From 96 for 4 in 14.1 overs, Rovman Powell assumed control and led his team to 149 for 6 in the end, with 42 coming off the final 30 balls. Powell muscled one over long-on from Chahal after slogging Hardik's slower short ball over deep midwicket, and then he faced Arshdeep, one of India's reliable death-overs players.
In the final struggle between Powell and the Indian bowlers, Mukesh bowled the 18th and 20th high pressure overs without conceding a single boundary. It brought West Indies to 149/6, a total that seemed low at the time but ended up being sufficient.
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