Four days after collecting a seven-wicket victory in Guyana to keep themselves afloat, Team India produced an even more clinical performance in Florida on Saturday to level the five-match T20I series against the West Indies 2-2.
Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 not out) and Shubman Gill (77) led the way for the Men in Blue, slamming whirlwind half-centuries and stitching a mammoth 165-run opening stand as India chased down the 179-run target set by Windies with nine wickets and three overs to spare.
The victory at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Florida’s Lauderhill ensures the Hardik Pandya-led visitors take the five-match series to a decider, which will take place on Sunday at the same venue.
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Earlier, middle-order batter Shimron Hetmyer bounced back to form with a 39-ball 61 and was ably assisted by Shai Hope (45) along the way as the West Indies posted what initially appeared to be a competitive total of 178/8 on the board after skipper Rovman Powell opted to bat.
The manner with which Jaiswal and Gill tore the Windies attack to shreds suggested the surface was a batting paradise where score of 200 would have been a par one, and that the hosts ultimately fell well short of it.
While left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3/38, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav once again made the most impact among the Indian bowlers. Kuldeep finished with figures of 2/26 after his game-changing haul of 3/28 in Guyana on Tuesday, dismissing in-form batters Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell in his first over to stifle the flow of runs for the Men in Maroon.
Openers finally deliver for Men in Blue
Coming into this match, India needed some runs from their openers and the two young men did precisely that.
Gill and Jaiswal slipped into overdrive from ball one and they seldom downshifted either. They made 165 runs together and it was India’s best stand for the opening wicket in this series so far.
There were apprehensions of pitch getting slowed down in the second half of the match, as it often happened in the past. But the centre square that was recently refurbished using Mississippi soil stayed true for the whole course of the match.
Gill and Jaiswal used the wicket’s friendly nature to the hilt as 66 runs cascaded in the Power Play segment. The eight fours and three sixes they smoked during that phase, underscored Indian batters’ dominance.
Incidentally, all three sixes took birth off Gill’s punishing bat.
Gill was the first to stroll past the fifty-run mark, cutting Powell past the point fielder for a couple.
Jaiswal soon joined his partner on that landmark point, and it was achieved in an even more eye-popping fashion.
Powell tried to go wide of off-stump but the left-hander moved across and thumped the ball through wide square leg for a boundary, and celebrated his maiden T20I fifty with unmasked glee.
In the process of making 165, Gill and Jaiswal equalled the record for the second-highest opening alliance for India in T20Is. They are now tied with Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who made 165 against Sri Lanka at Indore in Sri Lanka in 2017.
Perhaps, it was the first chapter in passing of the baton to the younger crop as far as the shortest format is concerned.
Earlier, an outstanding effort by bowlers helped India pin down West Indies to a total that was underwhelming considering a pitch that offered true bounce and little turn.
West Indies’ decision to bat first was understandable as teams batting first often enjoyed a distinct advantage at this venue, largely because of a pitch that tends to slow down as the match progresses.
However, the home batsmen, save Hetmyer and Hope, failed to capitalise on an excellent chance to put on board a bigger total.
In fact, the hosts did not manage even a single fifty stand in their innings.
The West Indies essay revolved around two partnerships a 49 for the fifth wicket between Hope and Hetmyer and then a 47 for the eighth wicket between Hetmyer and Odean Smith.
On other times, Indian bowlers led by Arshdeep and Kuldeep kept the Windies batting unit on a tight leash.
Hetmyer, who pounded a fifty, played some meaty shots in the end as West Indies scored at a fair clip in the last five overs.
But Gill and Jaiswal ensured that the total was not even sufficient to stretch India.
Brief scores:
West Indies 178/8 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 61, Shai Hope 45; Arshdeep Singh 3/38, Kuldeep Yadav 2/26) lost to India 179/1 in 17 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 84 not out, Shubman Gill 77; Romario Shepherd 1/35) by nine wickets.
With inputs from PTI
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