CMC – India’s bowlers held their composure this time around to deny a gutsy run chase by West Indies and take the third T20I by 14 runs at the Holkar Cricket Stadium here on Sunday in another high-scoring affair.
For the first time in the series the team batting first prevailed, with Abhishek Sharma’s blistering 69 off 30 balls along with several other crucial cameos from their middle and lower order batters propeling India to 223 in their 20 overs.
The visitors were then unable to replicate Friday’s record-breaking performance, only managing to get up to 209 for seven before running out of overs.
With the win, India took a 2-1 lead in the five-match series and will have a chance to close it out when they travel to Hyderabad for the fourth match on Wednesday.
The Windies actually did well to restrict the home side to their eventual total following an impressive display by their top order batters that saw them bludgeon 87 runs in the opening six overs after the early loss of Sanju Samson for three.
Sharma and Ishan Kishan sent the West Indies’ bowlers to all parts of the ground in a brutal attack, with the former bringing up his half century off just 18 balls – inclusive of five fours and four sixes – inside the power play.
At one point India was scoring at over 14 runs an over, until Roston Chase got the breakthrough by having Kishan stumped for 37 off 18 balls, to leave the score 115 for two in the ninth over.
Three balls later the offspinner trapped captain Shreyas Iyer lbw for one, and when medium pacer Shamar Springer had Sharma caught and bowled and Naman Dhir hit spinner Gudakesh Motie into the hands of long off, the Windies were in the driver’s seat at 135 for five in the 11th over.
The visitors took wickets regularly thereafter, but cameos by Tilak Varma, who made 28, Nitish Kumar Reddy (21), Axar Patel’s 20 and an unbeaten 13 off six balls by Prince Yadav, got India up to a competitive total.
Chase was the pick of the Windies’ bowlers with 2-38, while Springer (2-50) and Shamar Joseph (2-54) provided support.
The West Indies suffered an almost immediate setback in their chase, with left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh bowling their inspirational captain Shai Hope with just seven runs on the board.
Shimron Hetmyer dominated a 60-run partnership with Kamil Pooran for the second wicket, that carried the Windies to 67 for one until India struck two blows to stamp their authority on the match.
Hetmyer looked good for his 43 off 26 balls before he was bowled off his pads by Dhir, and spinner Axar Patel had Rovman Powell caught at long off for five, to reduce the West Indies to 82 for three in the 10th over.
From thereon, the required run rate continued to spiral out of control – reaching 15 runs an over at one point – as India’s bowlers put a clamp on the Windies’ scoring.
Sherfane Rutherford tried his best during his innings of 32 off 25 balls, but Singh made crucial strikes by bowling him and also accounting for the wicket of Keemo Paul to effectively end the contest.
Shamar Springer belted an unbeaten 35 off 11 balls, with 22 runs coming off the last over with the West Indies needing 36 runs to force a Super Over.
Player-of-the-Match Singh claimed 3-44 and Dhir took 2-39.
