West Indies vs India 2022: 3rd T20I – Who Said What

A record run chase at the Warner Park in St.Kitts by the Indian side saw the visitors taking a 2-1 lead in the five-match T20I series against West Indies. It was a tough day for the hosts, who had the perfect start while batting first with a half-century partnership for the opening pair. While Kyle Mayers played the aggressor role and got to 73 off 50 balls, he did not get enough support from the other batters, especially in the strike rate column.

The likes of Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran played at a strike rate of nearly 100, and despite the final flourish from Rowman Powell (23) and Shimron Hetmyer (20), West Indies ended up with 164 for 5 in their 20 overs. For India, it was the veteran Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was the pick of the bowlers with 2 for 35, while Hardik Pandya bowled a splendid economic spell.

Suryakumar Yadav’s blistering knock takes India to victory

Chasing 165 to win, India did not have the best of starts, with the skipper Rohit Sharma retiring hurt due to a back spasm. However, it did not stop Suryakumar Yadav from his free-flowing boundaries as the right-hander found the gaps to keep the scoreboard ticking in the powerplay. Shreyas Iyer, on the other end, played the waiting game until he perished for 27-ball 24.

With the job almost done by Suryakumar (76), who brought up yet another half-century, Rishabh Pant contributed by doing the final rites with an unbeaten 26-ball 33. Deepak Hooda remained unbeaten on 10 to take India home with one over to spare in a quite comfortable victory. The action now shifts to Florida for the next two T20Is, and it remains to be seen if the visa issues get cleared up.

Losing skipper, Nicholas Pooran said:

Felt we had to get early wickets. Didn’t do that. We felt like we had enough. India bowled well. Wicket was on the slower side, felt it was difficult to keep scoring on it. Would’ve been a different game had we got early wickets. We kept losing wickets in the middle overs. We lost the game but did a lot of right things. Felt like we were 10-15 runs short. But early wickets could’ve changed the game today.

Winning skipper, Rohit Sharma said:

It’s okay at the moment. We’ve got a few days till the next game, hopefully it should be okay (his injury). How we bowled in the middle overs was crucial. I thought we used the conditions well. Used the variations well. Was very clinical how we chased. When you watched from the outside, didn’t feel a lot of risk was taken, was a lot of calmness in the middle. Surya batted brilliantly, good partnership there with Iyer. The pitch had something in it for the bowlers, not an easy target. Was important to pick the right shots, right balls on a ground like that.

POTM, Suryakumar Yadav said:

Really happy with the way things went. Was important for someone to bat 15-17 overs after Rohit went back inside. We saw yesterday what happened in the second innings. Was important for someone to bat deep and win the game, that’s what I’ve focussed on. Just backed myself and enjoying it.