West Indies shocked India by four runs to claim victory in the first T20 International on Thursday as the visitors fell short of the modest 150-run target.
West Indies beats India: India lost six wickets for just 68 runs after being well-positioned at 77-3 in the 11th over thanks to debutant Tilak Varma’s best score of 39 and 21 from Suryakumar Yadav.
Shimron Hetmyer, who was playing international cricket for the first time in a year, shone for the West Indies on the field by grabbing three catches and successfully running out Arshdeep Singh in the last over to end the low-scoring contest.
The 20-year-old Varma, who this season helped the Mumbai Indians score 343 runs in the IPL, smashed three sixes in his 22-ball innings.
In the first three balls he encountered from Alzarri Joseph, he hit two sixes.
His innings came to an end on the final delivery of the 11th over when Hetmyer off-pacer Romario Shepherd caught him at fine leg with the score at 77.
Hetmyer beautifully took Suryakumar at short extra cover with a diving catch to his left, after he had been the third wicket to fall ten runs earlier.
At the Brian Lara Stadium, the team’s captain Hardik Pandya (19), Axar Patel (13) and Singh (12) all made valuable contributions but struggled to push the pace.
Holder’s outstanding performance of 2-19 from his four overs earned him the man of the match award for the West Indies.
“West Indies Makes 149-6 as Rovman Powell Scores 48 in Toss-Winning Innings
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the West Indies made 149-6, with skipper Rovman Powell scoring the most runs with 48.
After Nicholas Pooran was out for 41, Powell smashed three fours and three sixes in his 32-ball innings, but the West Indies was only able to score 21 runs off the final three overs.
In last week’s Major League Cricket final in the US, MI New York, supported by the Mumbai Indians, witnessed Pooran scoring a game-winning unbeaten 137 runs.
Yuzvendra Chahal, a leg-spinner, eliminated fellow opener Brandon King (28) in a similar fashion two balls after trapping Kyle Mayers leg-before for one.
Kuldeep Yadav’s left-arm wristspinner sliced a catch to Varma in the deep when Charles added only three more runs.
Prior to both holing out on either side of Hetmyer’s 10th-inning departure, Pooran and Powell gave the innings some momentum.
Before the conclusion of the series in Lauderhill, Florida, on August 12 and 13, the next two games will take place in Bridgetown on Sunday and Tuesday.
India defeated the West Indies 2-1 in the ODIs after winning the two-match Test series 1-0.