In a match blighted by very poor fielding efforts from Indian players, skipper Virat Kohli took a stunning catch to give the home fans something to cheer about at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
India lost the match by eight wickets, getting hammered by a power-hitting Windies batsmen. And India's poor fielding added to the woes. India were considered one of the best fielding sides in the world but dropped catches and misfields in the first two matches of the series seriously compromised that claim.
But in a moment of brilliance, Kohli produced a stunning effort to remind that not all is lost. In the 14th over of the West Indies' innings, Shimron Hetmyer clobbered the fourth ball only to see Kohli taking a diving catch at deep. What makes the catch special was Kohli's balance and awareness.
Running to his right from long-on, a diving Kohli somehow reached the ball and got hold of the ball. Then he surprisingly managed to get up without touching the body after a quick glance at the boundary rope.
Watch it here:
That was one of the only two wickets India managed to claim on a day dominated by the flamboyance of Windies power hitters. And Ravindra Jadeja was lucky to have that wicket. Truth be told, it was Kohli's wicket.
Put into bat, India set a 171-run target for the visitors, courtesy Shivam Dube's maiden fifty (54 off 30). But with the man of the match Lendl Simmons (67 off 45) and Evin Lewis (40 off 35) giving a solid foundation -- 73 in 9.5 overs -- India needed quick wickets. And that never happened with Shimron Hetmyer (23 off 14) and Nicholas Pooran (38 off 18) giving Simmons perfect support. And they romped home with nine balls to spare.
India took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with a convincing win at Hyderabad on Friday. The two teams now head to Mumbai for the T20I finale on Wednesday, before renewing their rivalry in a three-match ODI series.
