An abject display of batting by India led to a four run defeat in the first T20I against the West Indies in Tarouba on Thursday. (More Cricket news)
Indian bowlers, led by leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, did a good job restricting the hosts to 149/6, after the West Indies won the toss and chose to bat.
But the Indian batting failed to get going, with openers Shubman Gill (3) and Ishan Kishan (6) departing cheaply and Suryakumar Yadav (21) not being able to convert a start.
An innings of 39 from debutant Tilak Varma, and a couple of partnerships of 30-plus runs, seemed to put India on course for a win, but when skipper Hardik Pandya (19) and Sanju Samson (12) departed, India were 113/6 and suddenly feeling the jitters.
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A few good hits by Axar Patel (13) and Arshdeep Singh (12) raised a few hopes but the mountain before them was too steep.
Earlier, Varma and pacer Mukesh Kumar were handed their debuts and leggie Yuzvendra Chahal made an impact as India kept the hosts to a modest 149/ 6.
A captain’s innings of 48 from 32 balls by Rovman Powell, along with Nicholas Pooran’s 34-ball 41, were the highlights of the West Indies scorecard.
The new ball wasn’t doing much for the pacers in the powerplay. As such, Mukesh and Arshdeep Singh were not able to do much to rattle the West Indies top-order. Arshdeep, however, did scalp two wickets eventually.
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In the fourth over, Pandya turned to spin and brought in Patel. But Brandon King (28 off 19) tore into him with an inside out six over cover.
Chahal (2/24), playing his first game of the tour, bowled the next over. His googly had Kyle Myers (1) going for a slog sweep and missing. He was given leg before even though the ball was missing the stumps, but then Myers did not review.
And then just two deliveries later, King missed a straight ball by Chahal for another leg before verdict.
Pooran started from where he finished in Sunday’s Major League Cricket final, when he blasted a 55-ball 137 for Mumbai Indians New York against Seattle Orcas in Dallas. He slammed Patel for a six and four, and the West Indies were going reasonably well at 54 for two in six overs.
Powell added his own mayhem, hitting three sixes and three fours. But the West Indies could not sustain the momentum. They scored 42 in the last five overs and lost two wickets.
