India vs WI, 5th T20I: King and Pooran Shine for Hosts as India Lose Series

India vs West Indies, 5th T20I: Barring Suryakumar Yadav, none of India's batters could breach the 30-run mark.

India vs West Indies, 5th T20I: West Indies won the last T20I by 8 wickets and sealed the series.

(Photo: PTI)

After Romario Shepherd's exemplary bowling display, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat to seal the five-match T20I series after beating India by 8 wickets in the fifth and final match at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground on Sunday, 13 August. West Indies won the five-match series 3-2, which is also their first T20I series win over India since 2017.

After losing the first two matches, India bounced back strongly and clinched the next two games to level up the series but couldn't continue with the momentum in the decider as they suffered their first T20 series loss against West Indies since 2017. Moreover, this was India's first series loss in 13 T20Is since July 2021.

After opting to bat first, India posted 165/9 in 20 overs, thanks to Suryakumar Yadav's 61 off 45 and Axar Patel's little cameo of 13 off 10. In response, opener Brandon King (85 not out) and Nicholas Pooran (47) fired for West Indies as the host wrapped up the match and the series.

Chasing 166, West Indies started off well with Kyle Mayers hitting a boundary and a six in the first over. The next over, Arshdeep Singh got the first breakthrough, dismissing the former for 10.

Then, Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King rolled up their sleeves and proceeded to dominate the Indian bowlers with an aggressive batting display.

Captain Hardik Pandya brought Kuldeep Yadav in attack in the Power-play and the spinner almost trapped Pooran with lbw but the batter survived as the ultra-edged showed a spike when the ball passed by the glove. Then, King smashed three sixes and a boundary in the sixth over as the Windies were raced to 61/1 at the end of the Power-play.

Pooran and King proceeded with the calculated approach in the next four overs as the West Indies were comfortably placed at 96-1 in 10 overs, needing only 70 needed with 9 wickets in hand.

In the 13th over, King completed his half-century as he danced down the track lofting it over long-off for a huge six. A moment later, the play stopped due to bad weather as the players were coming off the ground due to some lightning in the skies.

Soon after resumption, Tilak Varma got the big wicket of Pooran and denied him a half-century, breaking the 107-run partnership. Afterwards, King took bowlers to the cleaners before Shai Hope sealed the deal with a maximum as Windies wrapped the win with 12 balls to spare.

Suryakumar Scored Half-Century, but Lacked Support

Earlier, India got off to a poor start as Akeal Hosein removed both openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, in quick succession, leaving India 17/2 within three overs. Then, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak staged a fightback and pushed the Power-play score to 51/2.

When Tilak was looking dangerous, Roston Chase showcased exceptional alertness and skill by taking a remarkable caught-and-bowled opportunity to dismiss the left-hander, breaking the 49-run third-wicket partnership.

India vs West Indies, 5th T20I: Suryakumar Yadav scored 61 runs.

(Photo: PTI)

Yadav continued the onslaught and scored 61 runs in 45 deliveries, but he lacked support from the other end, with both Hardik Pandya and Axar Patel being dismissed for under 25.

Brief scores: 

India 165/9 in 20 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 61, Axar Patel 13; Romario Shepherd 4-31) lost to West Indies 171/2 in 18 overs (Brandon King 85 not out, Nicholas Pooran 47; Tilak Varma 1-17, Arshdeep Singh 1-20) by 8 wickets.