In the 2nd T20 at Eden Gardens, Kolkata, India beat West Indies by 8 runs to win the series. India’s all-round performance helps them win the 3 match series by 2-0 with one game to play.
West Indies won the toss and opt to field first given the due factor. India batting first had a shaky start as they kept losing wickets at a regular Interval. Virat Kohli found his long-lost form and stabilized the innings along with Rishabh Panth and Venkatesh Iyer. Kohli played a fiery knock of 52 along with Rishabh pant and Venkatesh Iyer scoring 52 and 33 respectively.
A strong performance from the middle-order helped India post a fighting 186 for the loss of 5 wickets. West Indies Innings kicked off in the same fashion (losing quick wickets). They seem to be losing their grip when Powell and Pooran stitched the wounded batting lineup. Both the players played a reviving Innings to punch in some air in the game. Nicholas Pooran added 62 of 41 balls to spicy up the drama.
Death Overs Drama
Rovman Powell made sure to take the match to the final over. Until the 18th over the game swung like a pendulum till Pooran lost his wicket to Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Everything boils down to the last 4 balls when they needed 23 of the remaining 4 balls. Rovman Powell slams back-to-back sixes off Harshal Patel in 2 consecutive deliveries. Patel mixed his pace which eventually left Powell scoring a mere single.
Needing 10 off the last ball, Pollard defends like a test shot to score a single as he gave a Shere example of a truce on a battlefield. India beat West Indies by 8 runs to win the 3 match series by 2-0. Rishabh Pant won the Man of the Match accolade for his scintillating performance of 52 runs off 28 balls. The 3rd and Final T20 will be played on 20th Feb in Eden Gardens.
