1st T20I: West Indies dominated in 8-wicket loss to India
India 172 for 2 (Shreyas 102*, Ishan 37*; Hosein 1-37) beat West Indies 171 all out (Rutherford 56, Hope 52; Naman 3-31) by 8 wickets
The West Indies suffered a humbling eight-wicket defeat at the hands of India in the first T20 International in Lucknow on Tuesday. Following an underwhelming batting display, the Caribbean bowlers failed to provide the wicket-taking spark necessary to defend a below-par total, conceding the required 172 runs in 14.4 overs.
India’s captain, Shreyas Iyer, scorched 102 off 43 deliveries to right the hosts’ chase after an early wobble. The right-hander cashed in after a measured start, with an array of shots square of the wicket on his way to a maiden T20I hundred.
His 68-ball unbroken 137-run third-wicket stand with Ishan Kishan (37*) batted West Indies out of the game. Opener Abhishek Sharma started like a house on fire, taking a maximum and two boundaries from Matthew Forde’s opening over, racing to 21 from 10 balls.
He was brilliantly caught by Shimron Hetmyer, with Roston Chase finding the breakthrough at 29 for one in the third. Partner Samson (11) followed six runs later, caught and bowled by Akeal Hosein at 35 for two.
That was all the success the visitors would taste with the ball, as only one of their six bowling options finished with a single-digit economy rate.
Hope had earlier provided a positive start for the West Indies, smashing four boundaries from Mayank Yadav’s second over. Debutant Kamil Pooran hit two fours, including a gift of a first ball from Arshdeep Singh before playing on the left-armer for 12 in the 5th.
The West Indies quickly found themselves three down after Shimron Hetmyer (5) was run out by a combination of Shreyas and wicketkeeper Samson after he failed to ground his bat, diving at full length while trying to complete a quick single off Axar Patel’s 6th.
After facing two dot balls, Rovman Powell swung across Axar, only to be bowled for a duck, as the hosts finished the first phase of the innings with a wicket-maiden, restricting West Indies to 44 for three.
Hope and Sherfane Rutherford then shared in a 63-run fourth-wicket partnership to halt the slide. Their counter-attack first came in the form of an assault on Kuldeep Yadav, taking 24 runs from the wrist-spinners' first two overs.
They then took on Axar, scoring 18 from his third. The West Indies were 107 in the 12th when Hope fell for 52 (37). He deposited Naman Dhir over long-on before being caught the next delivery.
The visitors never recovered, going on to lose Roston Chase (5), Romario Shepherd (7), Matthew Forde (2), and Shamar Springer (9) for 28 runs in the next 25 balls, stumbling to 135 for eight at the end of the 16th.
Top scorer Rutherford put on 36 from 18 alongside Akeal Hosein (15) for the ninth wicket, bringing up a 31-ball 50 in the process before he too was sent back for 56 as the final wicket fell two balls later.