India vs West Indies, Only T20I was a game that the Virat Kohli-led team will remember for years to come as it showed the visitors a mirror they were ignoring for a long time. Despite India registering a dominating 3-1 ODI series win against West Indies, the solitary T20I defeat is what everyone is going to talk about and whoever the next head coach is, he will have to work out the strategies from ground zero now.
West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first at Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica and while Indian team was expected to carry on the momentum from the ODI series, in reality, turned out to be a bitter one as not even a single batsman was able to cross the 50 runs-mark, Dinesh Kartik being the highest scoring player with 48 runs.
Virat Kohli (39) and Shikhar Dhawan (23) gave a steady start to the team’ innings, however, ended up giving their wicket in the same over and while Kohli succumbed to a wrong shot selection, Dhawan lost his wicket while stealing a run which wasn’t even necessary.
In came debutant Rishabh Pant (38) and Dinesh Karthik who partnered for an 86-runs stand before the latter misjudged a delivery by Samuels that went straight for the bails. MS Dhoni came to the crease and the pitch had a perfect combination of youth, as well as experience and fans, were expected some fireworks on the ground. However, India vs West Indies, Only T20I was all about the host from that moment and yes, there were fireworks but from the least expected side.
MS Dhoni (2), Rishabh Pant and Kedar Jadhav (4) lost their wickets in quick succession while Ravindra Jadeja (13) and Ravi Ashwin (7) remained unbeaten by the end of India’s 20 overs.
On the other hand, whole West Indies bowlers were not able to restrict India’s total, they also made sure that the momentum the opening partnership provided, never carried on.
191 runs were the target and going by ODI series, India vs West Indies, Only T20I seemed to be a lost fight for the hosts. However, something unexpected happened in the next innings.
India lost the match by 9 wickets that were down almost exclusively to Evin Lewis, who registered an unbeaten 125 from 62 as West Indies made light work of overhauling India’s 190 runs total to win the game with nine balls still remaining.
However, India vs West Indies, Only T20I was not a match that the hosts won rather, it was a game that Virat Kohli’s men lost due to those two dropped catches and MS Dhoni not being himself behind the stumps twice.
After Chris Gayle went back for a cheap 18 off 20 balls, Evin Lewis emerged as the best performer of the day while Marlon Samuels’ 36-runs stand was enough for West Indies to end India’s tour in a devastating manner.
Some interesting stats from the India vs West Indies, Only T20I
- Evin Lewis’ unbeaten 125 is the highest ever stand in a T20I chase.
Runs – 125*
Balls – 62
4s – 6
6s – 12
Name – Evin Lewis#WIvIND #MissionAccomplished— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) July 9, 2017
- Evin Lewis became the first batsman to register two T20I centuries against the same country. He is also the only third player to have more than one T20I century after Brendon McCullum and Chris Gayle.
- Evin Lewis scored 47 runs during the power play which is the second best score in power plays against India after Johnson Charles (51).
- Only two players have scored more than Evin Lewis’ 125* in T20Is, Aaron Finch (156) and Glenn Maxwell (145).
- Evin Lewis’ 12 sixes against India is third on the list of most sixes in T20I innings. The top two consists of Aaron Finch (14) and Richard Levi (13).
- West Indies now have a record of 5 wins out of the seven T20I played against India, India vs West Indies, Only T20I being their third consecutive victory.
- Lewis now holds the record of highest score in T20I by a West Indies batsman courtesy of his unbeaten 125, Chris Gayle’s 117 being the previous highest. He also holds the record for the highest score against India in the format.
- 191 runs is the biggest ever successful run chase by West Indies, 153 vs England being their previous best.
India’s performances in the T20 format seem to indicate the need to have specialists in order to keep up with the game. While Virat Kohli and Shikhar Dhawan set the best platform, the batsmen that followed couldn’t get going from the outset which cost them runs that could have come in handy. However, with Evin Lewis form, those 30-40 odd runs couldn’t have made much of a difference, it seems.
Moreover, a bad day on the field can happen to the best fielding sides, but this match is part of a worrying trend which has seen India drop simple catches and this is a problem that the Virat Kohli-led team will have to address after the India vs West Indies, Only T20I as they are going to face Sri Lanka for a 5-Match ODI series, 3-Match Test series and a one-off T20I.