'The plan was to hit the wicket' - Romario Shepherd reveals ploy that outfoxed Sanju Samson in fifth WI vs IND T20I

Following a thrilling eight-wicket win in the fifth and final T20I game over India, West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd reflected on his bowling plans during the match. With this win, Rovman Powell and Co. clinched the five-game series 3-2 at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill on August 13.

Shepherd was full of praise for West Indies batters, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran for their blistering 107-run partnership for the second wicket. The 28-year-old also said that to remove Sanju Samson, he planned to hit the wicket and tempt Suryakumar Yadav, who was on the other side, into hitting straight down the ground to get his wicket. Notably, he picked up a total of four wickets for 31 runs and eventually emerged as Player of the Match.

"It makes me feel happy because we ended up on the winning side. So thanks to Nicholas Pooran and Bradon King for playing so well. Right now from the ODIs to now, I have been hitting my areas and bowling well from the start to the end. 

"[On bowling plans] Especially to Sanju, the plan was to hit the wicket and to Surya to get him to hit straight down the ground. [On the series win] It meant a lot to us especially because we've been going through some hard times in the past couple of months so to win against a team like India it means a lot for us and the fans," Shepherd said during the post-match presentation. 

Talking of the match, India set a 166-run target after winning the toss and batting first. Suryakumar Yadav top-scored for India, scoring 61 off 45 deliveries. Apart from Shepherd's four-wicket haul, Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder picked up two wickets each for the Windies.

Meanwhile, West Indies batters troubled India pacers as they chased down the target with 12 balls remaining. Arshdeep Singh and Tilak Varma grabbed a wicket each for the tourists. The win marked the Caribbean nation's first-ever T20I series win over India since 2017.