ESPNcricinfo
An exhilarating 44-ball 83 from Suryakumar Yadav, peppered with boundary shots all around the park, kept India alive in the T20I series against West Indies – the scoreline now reads 2-1 in West Indies’ favour going into the USA leg of the five-match contest. India were in a spot of bother when their two openers fell early in the chase of 160 – also the highest target of the series so far – but Suryakumar, the world’s No. 1 T20I batter, counter-attacked with ten fours and four sixes.
His innings left the West Indies bowlers with very few answers and allowed Tilak Varma to quietly settle in and play a decisive supporting role. Tilak blossomed after Suryakumar’s dismissal to finish with an unbeaten 49 himself, a third straight innings of promise and the first one to come in a victory.
West Indies, who won the toss and opted to bat, scored 159 for 5, which seemed solid on the slow surface, but with a steady drizzle coming into play in the second innings, their bowlers had a tougher time compared to the Indian bowlers. They failed to replicate what India’s spinners – led by KuldeepYadav’s three-for – did, and the series now moves to the USA with India possibly with the momentum.
Summarized scores: India 164 for 3 (Suryakumar 83, Tilak 49*, Joseph 2-25) beat West Indies 159 for 5 (King 42, Powell 40*, Kuldeep 3-28) by seven wickets