IND v WI, 2nd T20I— West Indies Stun India Yet Again by 2 Wickets in a Nail-biting T20I Encounter

Nicholas Pooran hit 67 in 40 balls

Guyana, August 06: Led by Rovman Powell in the T20Is, West Indies achieved a second consecutive victory against India, taking a 2-0 lead in the 5-match series.

What should have been an easy win for the hosts turned out to be a nail-biting encounter as West Indies were reduced to 129/8 in 16 overs after being comfortably placed at 126/5 in 14 overs, needing only 27 more runs in remaining 36 balls.

However, Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph held their nerves to seal an important victory against the visitors. Hosein made 16* runs from 10 balls while Joseph 10 from 8.

Earlier, in pursuit of 153-run target, West Indies had a dreadful start as they lost two wickets— Brandon King and Johnson Charles— in the very first over bowled by Hardik Pandya. Kyle Mayers also lost his wicket and the scoreboard read 33/3 in the fourth over. From this awful situation, Nicholas Pooran launched a counter offensive by hitting six 4s and four 6s. Pooran stitched an important partnership of 57 runs with skipper Rovman Powell. The West Indies’ captain made 21 runs from 19 balls with a six and a four. Pooran forged another useful partnership of 37 runs with Shimron Hetmyer. Soon after Pooran’s dismissal (126/5 in 14 overs), West Indies’ innings lost momentum, losing three quick wickets in no time.

For India, skipper Hardik Pandya claimed three wickets while spinner Yuzvendra Chahal took two wickets. Arshdeep Singh (34/1) and Mukesh Kumar (35/1) failed to impress with the ball. Ravi Bishnoi too failed to make a statement.

In the 2nd T20I in Providence, India after winning the toss opted to bat first but managed to put only 152/7 on the board in the allotted 20 overs.

Young Tilak Varma starred with the bat to score his maiden half century. He made 51 runs in 41 balls before being dismissed.

For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph, Romario Shepherd and Akeal Hosein took six wickets between them, claiming two each.