Nicholas Pooran scored 67 runs to help West Indies beat India (AP Image)
It was a thrilling game of cricket where the match shifted both ways but in the end, Hosein and Joseph guided West Indies to a crucial win
Tailenders Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph held their nerves in the final overs after Nicholas Pooran’s fighting half-century as West Indies beat India by 2 wickets in the second T20I. It was a thrilling game of cricket where the match shifted both ways but in the end, Hosein and Joseph guided West Indies to win with their unbeaten 26-run stand for the ninth wicket.
The Indian bowlers managed to pull the visitors back in the game in the death overs by taking crucial wickets but they failed to get the better of Hosein and Joseph. West Indies chased down the 153-run target with 7 balls to spare at Providence Stadium, Guyana.
Chasing the target, West Indies lost two wickets in the first over courtesy Hardik Pandya’s brilliant show with the ball. He dismissed Brandon King for a golden duck followed by Johnson Charles’ scalp for just two.
Nicholas Pooran smashed the Indian bowlers out of the park to pull West Indies back in the game in no time. The southpaw smashed 67 runs off 40 balls which was laced with 6 fours and 4 sixes. He got some support from Rovman Powell (21) and Shimron Hetmyer (22) but it wasn’t enough.
West Indies suffered a mini-collapse after Pooran’s wicket as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals but Hosein and Joseph get the job done for them. It was Hosein who hit the winning runs for the Windies.
Earlier, the star Indian batters disappoint once again as young Tilak Varma came to the rescue with his maiden international half-century. The southpaw scored 51 runs to help India post a challenging 152/7.
Varma, who was India’s leading scorer with 39 off 22 deliveries in the first T10I in Trinidad, came up with another fighting knock as he scored 51 off 41 deliveries after the visitors got off to a poor start, losing two wickets for 18 runs. Shubman Gill failed to score big once again and was dismissed for just 7, while Suryakumar Yadav was run-out for just 3.
Varma held the innings together, coming in at 76/4 and responding with a superb knock in what is only his second outing in T20I cricket. He started cautiously and then played some glorious shots, helping India reach the three-figure mark. His 51 came off 41 deliveries and were studded with five fours and a six.
Ishan Kishan (27) and Hardik Pandya (24) made some notable contributions with the bat to help India fight back.
Romario Shepherd (2-28), Alzarri Joseph (2-28) and Akeal Hosein (2-29) claimed a brace of wickets each as India struggled to cross the 150-run mark.
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