India didn't get the chase and suffered a humiliating defeat. A stunning display of power-hitting from the West Indies batsmen stunned India by eight wickets at Thiruvananthapuram, and keep the series alive. After dismissing a strong Indian batting line-up for 170, their batsmen completed the job with effortless ease. Lendl Simmons remained unbeaten on 67 off 45 after setting the stage with Evin Lewis (40 off 35). Shimron Hetmyer (23 off 14) and Nicholas Pooran (38 off 18 not out) were brilliant. For India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was unlucky to went wicketless with some pathetic fielding effort. But skipper Virat Kohli did pull off a stunner to dismiss Hetmyer. Earlier in the match, promoted Shivam Dube hit his maiden fifty (54 off 30). He, along with Rishabh Pant (33 off 22 not out) gave some respectability to the total. So, we have a finale at Mumbai on Wednesday.
A couple of things that stood out in the match was the fearlessness of Windies batsmen. Yes, dew was a factor, but even the mistimed hits went for the maximums. India hit five sixes, while the Windies got 12. Even in the first match at Hyderabad, Windies batsmen dominated Indian bowlers, hitting 15 sixes and 11 fours. The second - well, India's poor fielding effort. Dropped catches and misfields galore, for the second match in succession. Until recently, India were hailed as one of the best in the world. Catch highlights of IND vs WI match here.
RESULT: West Indies Beat India By Eight Wickets With Nine Balls To Spare
10:27 PM IST: Deepak Chahar on with his last over, and Nicholas Pooran hits the winning runs, a four off the third ball to deep midwicket. That's all. Windies hit back. WI - 173/2 (18.3). Simmons - 67 off 45; Pooran 39 off 18.
10:24 PM IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar on with his last over. Nicholas Pooran hits the first ball for a sumptuous four to deep extra cover. Fielder doesn't move and Virat Kohli shakes his head in disbelief. A rarity. Four singles followed, and fifty-run stand in 25 balls. Then what, Pooran plays a brilliant pull shot for six. It reminds of Brian Lara in full flow. 14 runs from the over. WI - 168/2 after 18 overs. They need three in 12 balls. Simmons - 66; Pooran - 34.
10:19 PM IST: Deepak Chahar on with his third. A dot to Nicholas Pooran. A chance off the second ball as Pooran lofts a skier, and Shreyas Iyer's brilliant attempt comes short. He returns the ball from long-on and a review for run-out at the striker's end. But Pooran is well within the line. Three singles, then a wide, outside the tramline. Lendl Simmons hits the last ball for a six over long-off. Stunning hit. 12 runs from the over. WI - 154/2 after 17 overs. They need 17 in 18. Simmons - 64; Pooran - 22. They have added 42 in 20 balls, and 55 runs have come in the last five overs. Bhuvi's figures: 0/36.
10:13 PM IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar on with his third. Nicholas Pooran hits the first ball for a four. Good attempt from Ravindra Jadeja at deep midwicket, but gets beaten by the ball. Brilliant timing. A dot then another four, this time through extra cover. A double then a single. Lendl Simmons finishes the over with a four, through extra cover. Breathless. 15 runs from the over. WI - 142/2 after 16. Simmons - 57; Pooran - 18. They need 29 in 24.
10:09 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal on with his third. And his punished. Nicholas Pooran hits the fourth ball for a six over long-on, then Lendl Simmons gets his own off the last ball over long-on. And fifty for the opener, in 38 balls. 14 runs from the over. WI - 127/2 after 15 overs. They need 44 from 30. Simmons - 53; Pooran - 7.
10:05 PM IST: Ravindra Jadeja on with his second over. A single to Lendl Simmons, then a six from the blade of Shimron Hetmyer, over deep square. Another six, ball hitting the rope at over extra cover. And a STUNNING CATCH. Virat Kohli covers some distance and takes a diving catch at deep. Hetmyer (22 off 14) out. Nicholas Pooran, left-handed batsman, is the new man. 14 runs from the over. WI - 113/2 after 14. Simmons - 46; Pooran - 0. They need 58 in 36.
9:58 PM IST: Shivam Dube returns for his second over. A dot to Shimron Hetmyer, then a very poor delivery to Lendl Simmons. Short and wide. And Simmons puts it away for a four, through backward point. A dot then, Yuzvendra Chahal stops a certain boundary at short third man. A single though. A yorker to Hetmyer for a dot. Windies sneak in a second off the last ball. Eight runs from the over. WI - 99/1 after 13 overs. Simmons - 44; Hetmyer - 11. They need 72 in 42.
9:54 PM IST: Bowling change. Ravindra Jadeja on. A dot to Lendl Simmons, then a single. Shimron Hetmyer hits the third ball for a six over deep midwicket. A slog sweep with complete control. Two dots then a single to end the over. Eight runs from the over. WI - 91/1 after 12 overs. Simmons - 39; Hetmyer - 8. They need 80 in 48.
9:51 PM IST: Bowling change. Shivam Dube, right-arm medium-pacer, on. A double off the first ball as Lendl Simmons plays it towards short fine. Poor effort from Bhuvneshwar Kumar to allow the Windies batsmen to return for the second run. Two singles, then a no-ball. Simmons hit the free-hit delivery for a four to long-on. 10 runs from the over. WI - 83/1 after 11 overs. Simmons - 38; Hetmyer - 1. They need 88 in 54.
9:47 PM IST: Washington Sundar on with his last over. Singles off the first and third deliveries, then the WICKET of Evin Lewis (40 off 35). Stumped off the fifth ball. Quick and clean work from Rishabh Pant. Shimron Hetmyer, left-handed batsman, is the new man. Two runs from the over. WI - 73/1 after 10 overs. Simmons - 30; Hetmyer - 0. They need 98 runs in 60. Sundar's figures: 1/26.
9:41 PM IST: Yuzvendra Chahal on with his second over. Lendl Simmons takes a double, then a dot. Ravindra Jadeja misfields at backward point to give away a four. Simmons hits the next ball for a six over deep midwicket. Raw power from the opener. 12 runs from the over. WI - 71/0 after nine overs. Simmons - 29; Lewis - 39. They need 100 from 66.
9:35 PM IST: Washington Sundar returns for his third. A single, then Lendl Simmons lofts the second for a six, into the sightscreen. A single, then India take a review. Ball missing the off-stump. Evin Lewis survives. Eight runs from the over. WI - 59/0 after eight overs. Simmons - 17; Lewis - 39. They need 112 from 72 balls.
9:31 PM IST: Bowling change. Yuzvendra Chahal on. A wide to start with, spinning away from left-handed Evin Lewis. Two singles, then Lewis picks the strayed delivery and puts it away for a six, over backward square leg to bring up Windies's fifty. Two dots, then a single to end the over. 10 runs from the over. WI - 51/0 after seven overs. Simmons 10 off 14; Lewis - 38 off 28. They need 120 in 78.
9:26 PM IST: Washington Sundar continues. A single to Lendl Simmons to deep mid-wicket, then Evin Lewis slog sweeps the second ball for a mighty six over deep square leg. A dot and another six, this time over long-off. Lewis didn't even middle those. Then a wide, down the leg. A single to end the over. 15 runs from the over. WI - 41/0 after six overs. Simmons - 9; Lewis -30. They need another 130 from 84 balls.
9:22 PM IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar continues. A dot to Lendl Simmons, and Washington Sundar drops, again. A skier from Simmons and Sundar drops a straight forward catch at mid-off. In the first match too, he dropped an easy one. A single off it, and a dot, then Rishabh Pant drops another. Good attempt but he should have taken it. He first moves the wrong direction and while completing the catch on his left, his elbow hits the ground and the ball spills. Still a brilliant over. Just three singles. WI - 26/0 after five overs. They need another 145. Simmons - 8 off 12; Lewis - 17 off 18.
9:17 PM IST: Bowling change. Washington Sundar into the attack. A single to Lendl Simmons and a huge shout from Rishabh Pant for LBW. Umpires not interested. Five dots to Evin Lewis. Brilliant stuff from the off-break spinner. WI - 23/0 after four overs. They need 148 more runs. Simmons - 6; Lewis 16.
9:13 PM IST: Deepak Chahar continues, and is hit for back-to-back fours by Evin Lewis -- first a pull then a delightful cover drive. Brilliant shot. A sight to behold. Chahar responded well. A dot than two singles. A slower bouncer, given a wide and everyone is surprised. A wild swing for a top edge and lands in no man's land at long-off for two runs. 13 runs from the over. WI - 22/0 after 3 overs. Simmons - 5; Lewis - 16. They need 149 runs more.
9:07 PM IST: Bhuvneshwar Kumar shares the new ball with Deepak Chahar. A dot to Lendl Simmons, then a double. Simmons lofts it over mid-off, but Yuzvendra Chahal chases down and the fielder slips. Sanjay Manjrekar generously goes down to 'pick' some signs of dew. Not much though, according to him. Windies openers are playing the power game, but so far fail to time the ball. It's a relatively slower deck. Four runs from the over. WI - 9/0 after two overs. They need 162 more.
9:03 PM IST: Lendl Simmons comes down the pitch but Deepak Chahar and drives towards mid-off, but no one. Chahar responded with an outswinger even as Simmons continued to charge down the wicket. A single off the third ball, then two dots to Evin Lewis. And a lucky four for Lewis. Blind shot and the top edge flies over first slip. Five runs from the over. They need 166 more runs.
8: 57 PM IST: Players are back after a quick breather. Lendl Simmons to face the first ball. His opening partner is Evin Lewis. Deepak Chahar will open the proceedings in the second half.
8:50 PM IST: An even first-half of the contest. India got lucky with the promotion of young Shivam Dube, who top-scored with 54 off 30 balls. Then, Rishabh Pant controlled his emotions and remained unbeaten on 33 off 22. Good job done by Windies bowlers though to restrict this strong Indian batting line-up under 180. Kesrick Williams (2/30) and Hayden Walsh (2/28) were brilliant. Sheldon Cottrell, Khary Pierre and Jason Holder got one wicket each.
India Innings
8:44 PM IST: Sheldon Cottrell with the last over of the innings. A dot to Rishabh Pant. The bat slips out and flies towards square leg umpire. Sweaty hands. A double, and a single and the new man Washington Sunder goes without scoring. Caught and bowled. Good low catch. Followed by the famous salute. Deepak Chahar is the new man. A single to deep mid-wicket, and a double to end the over. Six runs from it. IND - 170/7. Pant unbeaten on 33 off 22. Still a good score? 26 runs and three wickets in the last four overs. Cottrell's figures: 1/27.
8:39 PM IST: Kesrick Williams on with his last over. A wide to start with. Slower delivery and spraying, down the leg. Followed by a leg bye, then a wide. Rishabh Pant goes for a mighty heave but only a single to deep mid-wicket. Then a double as Hayden Walsh stops a certain boundary at deep mid-wicket. Ravindra Jadeja takes another double. A dot, then a straight delivery. And Jadeja (9 off 11) is gone. Castled. Eight runs and a wicket from the over. IND - 164/6 after 19 overs. Pant - 28 off 18. Williams's figures: 2/30.
8:33 PM IST: Sheldon Cottrell returns for his third over. Ravindra Jadeja takes a double off the first ball. Poor fielding from Kieron Pollard at mid-wicket to allow the Indians to return for the second run. Cottrell bangs it short as Jadeja charges down the pitch, and a wide, down the leg. Wild swing from Rishabh pant and gets hit on the body. A leg bye off the fourth ball. A single to backward point for Jadeja. Six runs from the over. IND - 156/5 after 18 overs. Pant - 27 off 17; Jadeja - 5 off 6.
8:28 PM IST: Hayden Walsh on, and he gets the WICKET of Shreyas Iyer (10 off 11). Caught by Brandon King at backward point. Ravindra Jadeja is the new man for India. Pure power from Rishabh Pant. Swings hard and a four off the last ball to long-off. Six runs from the over. IND - 150/5 after 17 overs. Pant - 27 off 15; Jadeja - 1 off 2.
8:23 PM IST: Jason Holder on with his last over. This is a perfect chance for Rishabh Pant to prove his detractors wrong. He can go berserk. Singles off the first three balls, and Sreyas Iyer clears cover for a four. Sublime timing. A single and a full toss to Pant. The left-handed batsman places it perfectly at deep square leg for a four. 12 runs from the over. Holder's figures: 1/42. IND - 144/4 after 16 overs. Pant - 22; Iyer - 10. 32 runs and a wicket in the last five overs.
8:18 PM IST: Hayden Walsh continues. Four singles from his third over. IND - 132/4 after 15 overs. Pant - 16 off 10; Iyer 4 off 6.
8:14 PM IST: First signs of dew. Kesrick Williams returns for his third. Rishabh Pant takes a single, then the BIG WICKET. Williams had Kohli (19 off 17) caught by Lendl Simmons at short third man. A leading-edge and Williams has a quiet celebration by putting his finger on his lips. Shreyas Iyer is the new man. And he takes a single. And a no-ball. Rishabh Pant hits the free hit for a four to fine leg. Nine runs from the over. IND - 128/4 after 14 overs. Pant - 14; Iyer - 2.
In the previous over, Virat Kohli went past Rohit Sharma (2562) as the leading scorer in T20Is.
9:07 PM IST: Hayden Walsh on with his second over. Rishabh Pant falls Two dots to Virat Kohli, then the Indian skipper picks the flighted delivery and hits between mid-wicket and long-on for a four. A double off the next ball, to deep mid-wicket. A dot to end the over. Seven runs from the over. IND - 119/3 after 13 overs. Kohli - 19; Pant - 8.
8:04 PM IST: Jason Holder on with his third over. Two dots to Virat Kohli, then a single. Rishabh Pant gets a double off the next ball. Sheldon Cottrell takes some time to return the ball from deep midwicket. Kohli changes his bat and lucky four. Thick edge and his first boundary of the match, to the third man. Eight runs from the over. IND - 112/3 after 12 overs. Kohli - 13; Pant - 7.
7:58 PM IST: Bowling change. Hayden Walsh, right-arm spinner, on. And skipper Kieron Pollard not only drops Shivam Dube at long-on, but also concedes a four. A dot then Dube (54 off 30) is gone. Reaching to a widish delivery and caught by Shimron Hetmyer at extra cover. Rishabh Pant joins Virat Kohli in the centre. Kohli survives a run-out chance. And he hits the last ball for a six, over deep extra cover. IND - 104/3 after 11 overs. Kohli - 6; Pant - 6.
7:52 PM IST: Kesrick Williams on with his second over. A wide, and Shivam Dube takes a single. Virat Kohli playing second fiddle to the youngster. A double, then a single. And the TV umpire calls a no-ball. Free hit. Dube picks the yorker-length delivery for a single. But he's not happy. A dot and a single to give the strike back to Dube, who's 49. And he gets it. Maiden fifty. IND - 93/2 after 10 overs. Dube - 50; Kohli - 5.
7:46 PM IST: Kieron Pollard continues. A double as Shivam Dube plays it to long-off. Good running with Virat Kohli pushing for the second. A wide then another double, this time to mid-off. Then a six over deep square leg. Two wides, then a six over deep mid-wicket. Clean hit. A biggie. Back-to-back sixes. A loose ball from Pollard and Dube puts it away, over sweeper cover. A quick single to end the over. 26 runs from it. IND - 84/2 after nine overs. Dube - 47 off 24; Kohli - 1.
7:40 PM IST: Jason Holder continues. And Shivam Dube gets on. Back-to-back boundaries - first a six over mid-wicket then a four to long-on. A single to rotate the strike and full and straight. Rohit Sharma (15 off 18) is gone. WICKET. Trying to be cute, and misses it completely. Bowled. Virat Kohli is the new man. 13 runs from the over. IND - 58/2 after eight overs. Dube - 24; Kohli - 1.
7:35 PM IST: Another bowling change. Skipper Kieron Pollard on with his right-arm medium pacers. Singles off the first two balls, then a slower delivery. Shivam Dube misses completely. Then, another couple of dots. Dube finally gets a single, to backward point. He is swinging hard but with no success. Three singles from the over. IND - 45/1 after seven overs. Rohit - 15; Dube - 12.
7:30 PM IST: Bowling change. Kesrick Williams, right-arm fast-medium pacer, replaces Khary Pierre. Shivam Dube takes a single off the first ball. A dot, then Rohit Sharma almost plays it on. Close shave. Dube flicks the next ball for a single. A dot then a double to deep mid-wicket. Five runs from the over. IND - 42/1 after six overs. Rohit - 14; Dube -10.
7:25 PM IST: Bowling change. Jason Holder, right-arm fast medium, on. A dot to Shivam Dube, followed by a bouncer. And Dube swings hard, and gets a top edge over the slip cordon for a four. A dot, then a dot. Rohit Sharma hits the last ball for a four to fine leg boundary. Nine runs from the over. IND - 37/1 after five overs. Rohit - 11; Dube - 8.
7:21 PM IST: Khary Pierre continues. And WICKET. KL Rahul (11 off 11) plays a slog sweep and is caught at deep square leg by Shimron Hetmyer. FoW - 24/1 (3.1). Shivam Dube, left-handed batsman, is the new man for India. The youngster starts with a double, to mid-off. A dot, then a single. A dot to end the over. Four runs and a wicket from it. IND - 28/1 after four overs. Rohit - 7; Dube - 3.
7:15 PM IST: Sheldon Cottrell continues. A single, then Rohit Sharma gets hit - at a place where nobody ones to get hit. Painful. He cops well. Smiling. A leg bye, then Rahul plays the fourth ball to deep backward square leg for a double. Good running. And a play and miss from Rahul. And another dot. Very good over from Cottrell. Just five runs from it. IND - 24/0 after three overs. Rohit - 6; Rahul - 11.
7:10 PM IST: Khary Pierre, left-arm spinner, on. Singles off the first two balls, then KL Rahul cuts the third ball away. Sublime timing. Virender Sehwag like. Stand and deliver, to sweeper cover, for a four. Three dots to end the over. Seven from the over. IND - 19/0 after two overs. Rohit - 6; Rahul - 7. Meanwhile, Nitin Menon is the TV umpire.
7:06 PM IST: A bouncer to start and Rohit pulls it behind square for a single. Then, a swinging delivery beats everyone - wide down the leg and four byes. No chance for Nicholas Pooran. A single and a dot to Rohit. The Indian vice-captain picks the swinging delivery and places it to the vacant fine leg area for a four. Another wide, down the leg. With Kieron Pollard setting 5:4 field, it's becoming a tough ask for Cottrell to maintain the line. A dot to end the over. 12 runs from the over.
7:00 PM IST: Sheldon Cottrell with the new ball. Rohit Sharma to face the first ball. KL Rahul is his opening partner.
6:58 PM IST: Players and match officials are out.
6:55 PM IST: A little while ago, Windies pace spearhead Sheldon Cottrell said he executed his plan in Hyderabad, and they need to bowl as a unit.
At the toss, Virat Kohli served another reminder. "Happy to contribute," he said while reflecting on that two-part knock at Hyderabad. Windies captain Kieron Pollard said, they "need to execute yorkers better.
6:37 PM IST: Here are the playing XIs
India: Rohit Sharma, Lokesh Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal
West Indies: Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Khary Pierre, Hayden Walsh, Sheldon Cottrell, Kesrick Williams
6:34 PM IST: And India are unchanged, meaning no Sanju Samson. One change for the Windies. Nicholas Pooran is back, in place of Denesh Ramdin.
6:32 PM IST: TOSS! Kieron Pollard wins the toss and the West Indies will bowl first.
6:25 PM IST: Pitch report: It's different from the Hyderabad pitch, and will assist spinner. Again, the team winning the toss should chase - Murali Kartik and Sunil Gavaskar with the pitch report for the official broadcasters. Toss next.
Premise
Chasing a 200+ target never looked so easy with skipper Virat Kohli showing his two shades on Friday evening at Hyderabad. Even as the city simmered, India registered a convincing six-wicket win with eight balls to spare. Yes, that [many] balls mattered in the shortest format of the game. And on Sunday evening, Kohli will hope for another good outing.
Kohli finished on 94 not out from just 50 balls while opener KL Rahul laid the foundation to the chase with a pronounced 62. But the match will be remembered for that two-part Kohli knocks - starting very slow with a lot of self-doubting, even for the world's top batsman, then the nerve-wracking finish.
India, however, endured a poor first part in that match -- feeding short balls to powerful Windies batsmen and dropping catches.
For the visitors, they batted well, but the bowling proved their Achilles heel and were 'Kohli unlucky'. If they can continue to dominate Indian bowlers and set a target, if bat first, they can surely test the Indian batting line-up.
By the way, the curator had promised a batting paradise. So expect another run-fest.
Meanwhile, India may consider local lad Sanju Samson, in place of Rishabh Pant. Windies are likely to have Nicolas Pooran back in the XI. The wicketkeeper was serving a ban for ball-tampering.
Squads:
India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami.
West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Khary Pierre, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh jr., Kesrick Williams.
