Building on Suryakumar Yadav’s heroic counterattack and an all-out bowling performance, India beat the West Indies in the 3rd T20I by 17 runs to end a 3-0 win of the series in Kolkata on Sunday 20 February. With the win India have all 6 games against West Indies as the visitors survived an ordinary tour.
With the win, India extended their T20Is winning streak to 9 games as everyone looks poised to oust England from No. 1 in the T20Is after winning 3-0.
Despite Nicholas Pooran hitting 50 for the third straight game, the West Indies missed the target by 18 runs thanks to a superb death bowling performance from Harshal Patel and Shardul Thakur. India scored 184 on the board thanks to the blitz from Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer who added 86 runs in the last 5 overs.
Also Read: Rohit Sharma Sets New Captain’s Record for India in T20Is
Harshal Patel finished the game on 3/22 as the Royal Challengers Bangalore pacer took crucial wickets from Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd as the two dangerous big-hitters threatened to make it big. It all started with Deepak Chahar winning the opening matches of the West Indies with his superb swing bowling, but the Chennai Super Kings star suffered a hip injury and was unable to end his 4-overs ban.
Venkatesh Iyer, who hit a Quickfire 35 earlier in the day, took 2 crucial wickets and solidified his credentials as a good all-rounder that India are looking for ahead of the T20 World Cup.
India vs. West Indies, 3rd T20I: Highlights
Earlier in the day, Suryakumar and Venkatesh Iyer sewed a 91-run streak in just 35 balls, helping the Eden Gardens crowd enjoy themselves in the T20I Series final. When India lost their captain Rohit Sharma to a shabby 15-ball 7 and staggered at 93/4 in the 14th over, Venkatesh Suryakumar gave Suryakumar the perfect helping hand as the two batsmen went about conceding the West Indies’ bowling attack to destroy.
That’s the way it was from the last T20I #TeamIndia 17-run win to complete a 3-0 win in the series.
Scorecard – https://t.co/2nbPwNh8dw #INDvWI @Paytm pic.twitter.com/u5z5CzD44b
— BCCI (@BCCI) February 20, 2022
India scored 86 runs in the last 5 overs, their best performance in death overs with bat in T20I cricket, and surpassed their tally of 80 when Yuvraj Singh went berserk in the 2007 T20 World Cup match against England in Durban.
Suryakumar Yadav hit 7 sixes and a limit on his 31-ball 65. The Mumbai Indians batter left the Kolkata crowd and his batting partner Iyer in awe, flaunting his wide range of batting. Suryakumar pulled out his signature pick-up shot when he got to his knees and hit one from the offside with a fine leg in one of the overs thrown by left-arm pacer Dominic Drakes.
Captain Rohit was delighted with Suryakumar’s performance as the star batter hit fifty in style with another stunning six over cover. Suryakumar got out in the final delivery of the Indian innings, walking to a big round of applause from the Indian dugout and fans.
Venkatesh gave a sold helping hand as the all-rounder, who will play for Kolkata Knight Riders at Eden Gardens, continued his solid run down the wires, hitting 35 in just 19 balls and smashing 2 sixes and 4 boundaries.
captain Rohit dropped back to 4th place to accommodate Ruturaj Gaikwad and Ishan Kishan at the top, but the move didn’t work out as expected. While Ruturaj folded for 4, Ishan again struggled for his 34-ball 31.
Rohit, who batted in 4th place, failed to find momentum and only managed 7 runs from 15 balls before Iyer and Suryakumar took over and decimated the West Indies’ attack.
Next, India will face Sri Lanka in a 3-game T20I series from 24 February.
