Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 69 off 30 balls and Arshdeep Singh’s three-wicket haul helped India register a 14-run victory over the West Indies in the third T20I at the Holkar Stadium on Sunday, giving the hosts a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Batting first, India posted 223 all out in 20 overs, powered by Abhishek’s aggressive knock and a 108-run second-wicket partnership with Ishan Kishan. Despite a late batting collapse, the hosts successfully defended the total, restricting the West Indies to 209/7.
Arshdeep returned figures of 3-44, while Naman Dhir claimed two wickets for 39 runs. Shamar Springer’s unbeaten 35 off 11 deliveries provided a late surge for the visitors but was not enough to secure victory.
The result also marked the first win by a team batting first in the ongoing white-ball series.
Chasing 224, the West Indies suffered an early setback when Arshdeep bowled opener Shai Hope for one. Mayank Yadav had earlier conceded just one run in the opening over.
Shimron Hetmyer counterattacked, capitalising on a dropped catch by Abhishek Sharma when he was on five. He struck a six and two boundaries off Arshdeep in the fourth over, which yielded 19 runs.
The visitors reached 54/1 at the end of the powerplay, compared with India’s 87/1 at the same stage.
Hetmyer continued his aggressive approach before Dhir dismissed him for 43 with a slower delivery. Rovman Powell then fell for five, caught at deep cover off Axar Patel.
Kamil Pooran attempted to revive the chase with three sixes off Dhir but was eventually caught in the deep for 42, giving the bowler his second wicket.
Sherfane Rutherford and Quention Sampson kept the West Indies in contention with some attacking strokes before Sampson was dismissed off Nitish Kumar Reddy.
Arshdeep effectively sealed the contest by removing Keemo Paul and Rutherford within four deliveries in the 18th over. Springer struck three sixes and a four off Axar in the final over, but the West Indies finished 14 runs short.
Earlier, India endured a cautious start after being put in to bat, scoring just 11 runs in the opening two overs. Shamar Joseph dismissed Sanju Samson for three after the opener mistimed a flick off a delivery clocked at 150.8 kmph.
Abhishek then shifted the momentum with an aggressive display against Roston Chase, striking a boundary and two sixes in the third over.
Kishan joined the attack, hitting three fours off Keemo Paul before the pair collected 21 runs from Springer’s fifth over.
Another 21 runs came off Joseph’s following over as Abhishek brought up his 14th T20I half-century in just 18 balls.
India raced to 87/1 at the end of the powerplay, with Abhishek reaching a significant milestone during his innings. He became the fastest batter to score 2,000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced, achieving the mark in 1,024 deliveries.
The 108-run partnership between Abhishek and Kishan put India on course for a total approaching 250 before the West Indies fought back.
Chase broke the stand in the ninth over, having Kishan stumped for 37. He then trapped captain Shreyas Iyer lbw for one in the same over.
Abhishek’s innings ended on 69, featuring six fours and five sixes, when he top-edged a pull shot and Springer completed the return catch.
Gudakesh Motie subsequently claimed his 50th T20I wicket by dismissing Dhir, who was caught at long-off.
Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy attempted to rebuild the innings, with both hitting two boundaries off Joseph in the 13th over. However, Reddy was caught behind off Paul for 21.
India’s innings suffered further setbacks through two run-outs caused by miscommunication.
Varma was dismissed for 28 after Axar mistakenly believed his flick towards deep square leg had reached the boundary. Pooran kept the ball in play, and the resulting throw caught Varma short of his crease.
Axar was later run out for 20 following another mix-up with Arshdeep. After Axar pushed a Springer delivery towards point, Arshdeep set off for a single, leaving Axar scrambling unsuccessfully to complete the run.
Springer then trapped Arshdeep lbw before Prince added valuable late runs with three boundaries off Joseph.
Joseph ended India’s innings by bowling Mayank with a yorker, leaving the hosts all out for 223.
Despite losing momentum in the latter half of their innings, India’s bowlers delivered under pressure to secure the victory and move ahead in the series.
Brief Scores:
India: 223 all out in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 69, Ishan Kishan 37; Roston Chase 2-38, Shamar Springer 2-50).
West Indies: 209/7 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 43, Kamil Pooran 42; Arshdeep Singh 3-44, Naman Dhir 2-39).
Result: India won by 14 runs and lead the five-match T20I series 2-1.
(IANS Inputs)
