After losing the Test and the ODI series against India, West Indies have started the five-match T20 series with a thrilling victory. Today, the Caribbeans welcomed India at Brian Lara Stadium to play the first game of the series. However, both teams had a heavy fight, but West Indies secured the victory at the end. They defeated India by four runs to take a 1-0 lead in the series.
Toss: Rovman Powell, the captain T20 of West Indies, won the toss and opted to bat first.
Batting Innings of West Indies
Winning the toss, the home team started their batting innings with Brandon King and Kyle Mayers. Brandon King took no time to charge the Indian bowlers, while Kyle Mayers looked uncomfortable in the crease. Brandon King was very aggressive from the very first ball. He hit four fours and a six. However, spinner Chahal stunned the Caribbeans in the 5th over. He picked up the two openers in the same over. Kyle Mayers scored only one run, while Brandon King added an aggressive 28 runs before losing their wickets.
Johnson Charles, the following batter, also failed to stay long on the crease. He lost his wicket to Kuldeep Yadav after scoring only three runs. However, Nicholas Pooran and captain Rovman Powell played game-changing innings for the Caribbeans in the middle order. The two batters made a partnership of 38 runs to handle the disaster.
Nicholas Pooran smashed two sixes and two fours to score 41 off 34 balls. Meanwhile, captain Powell scored the highest 48 runs from 32 balls. The Captain also hit three boundaries and three over boundaries. It seemed West Indies could make a massive score. Unfortunately,
the remaining batters couldn’t continue. Therefore, West Indies ended their innings with 149 runs.
Batting Innings of India
Chasing the target, India also had a poor start. Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill failed to score 10 runs combined. However, Surya Kumar Yadav and Tila Varma tried to handle the situation. Their partnership of 39 runs built a basement for India.
However, all-rounder Jason Holder broke their partnership as he picked up Suryakumar in the 9.2 over. Tilak Varma tried to play an aggressive innings. But Romario Shepherd got his wicket in the 11th over. Tilak Varma scored the highest 39 runs from 22 balls. Like the home team, India’s lower order also failed to contribute. They got closer to the target. However, they fell four runs short of their target. Therefore, West Indies secured the victory in the first T20 and will look for a second victory in their next match.
Captain’s Reactions
West Indies captain Rovman Powell shared his thoughts after winning the game. The captain said, “It’s a very good feeling. We talked about starting this series on a positive note. They didn’t have a set batter and I was confident in the final over. After watching the Indians bowl, I thought we were a spinner short. It was difficult (to bat). We knew the new ball was going to give runs. This series will be decided on how WI batters bat against the spin. We have the power in the backend. I knew it was going to be difficult to start in the Caribbean. But once you get a start, it’s easier. Jason (Holder) was fantastic today.”
