MOM Deepak Chahar, Kholi, Pant spur India to 7-wicket win Visitors sweep 3-Match series

Aug 07, 2019 Sports

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By Sean Devers

Since winning the last T20 World Cup in 2017, West Indies have only managed four wins and were on five-match losing streak after back to back defeats in the MyTeam11 Twenty20 International Series, co-sponsored by Skoda and Fena, in Florida, North America.

The home team would have been hard pressed to beat India yesterday when they clashed for the first time in a T20 match on South American soil at the Providence Stadium.
After a 50-minute late start due to overnight and morning rain India invited the home team to bat on a slow track heavy outfield due to the recent rain in Guyana.
Man-of-the Match 27-year-old pacer Deepak Chahar ripped out the first three West Indian batsmen to leave the host on 14-3 in the fourth over as he finished 3-4 from three overs.
He got support from Navdeep Saini who has 2-34 from four overs as the West Indies, despite 58 from 45 balls with one four and six sixes from Kieron Pollard who shared in 66-run fourth wicket stand with Nicolas Pooran who made 17 from 23 and a cameo unbeaten 32 from 20 with two sixes and a four from Rovman Powell, were restricted to 146-6 in 20 overs; 46 of those runs coming in the last four overs.
India led by his 21st T20I fifty from Skipper Virat Kholi, a delightful 59 from 45 balls with six boundaries and an entertaining unbeaten 64 from 42 balls decorated with four fours and four sixes from Rishabh Pant.
The pair shared in a 106-run partnership after opener KL Rahul made 20 with a couple of fours and a six as the visitors reached 150-3 to win by seven wickets with five balls to share.
Fabian Allen, in his first game in the series, had 1-18 from three overs to be the best West Indian bowler.
Watched by a disappointing crowd despite reports of a sold out venue, West Indies began inauspiciously to the delight of the Indian fans in the stands who were mostly Guyanese waving Indian Flags.
After being kept on a tight leash the ploy to use Sunil Narine at top of the order again failed like a damp squib when the left-hander hit Chahar to mid-on where Saini took a good diving catch to his right. Narine (2) played a wild slog to a full ball outside off stump, the ball hit the toe of the bat and lobbed up for the catch to leave the host on 4-1.
Evin Lewis pivoted and executed a dismissive pull for four off Kumar before, when on 10, he was LBW as Chahar struck again at 13-2.Chahar had Guyanese Shimron Hetymer (1) LBW in the same over a run later.
The Trinidad pair of Pollard and Keeper Pooran joined forces in ‘operation rebuild’ as the sun returned in all its glory. Pollard, built like a light Heavyweight Boxer, got going by dumping Sani for six and when Deepak’s cousin, leg-spinner Rahul Chahar, on debut, was introduced in the ninth over, he greeted the 20-year-old with a six over long-off before clobbering Washington Sundar for another big six with clean, straight hitting.
Pooran joined in the big-hitting; depositing Pandya over cover for six before Pollard went on one knee and swept Sundar like a bullet to the square leg boundary.
But with the score on 80 in the 14th over, Saini, was brought back and Pooran tried to run the ball to third man and only managed to edge it to the Keeper Pant who held a tumbling catch to end the partnership to send Pooran on his way.
Pollard, in his 62nd T20 game for the West Indies, smashed Pandya for six to reach only his third T20I fifty from 49 balls and celebrated with another six in same over which cost 16 runs and the 100 was posted in 15 overs.
The 32-year-old Pollard pulled a bouncer from Sani for four before missing a slower ball which crashed into his middle stump in the 16th over just as he was threatening to bat deep into the innings.
Pollard’s demise left West Indies on 105-5 before Skipper Carlos Braithwaite (10) hit Rahul Chahar for six but in an attempting to repeat the shot, hit the ball straight to long-on at 119-6 as the Barbadian again failed to make a meaningful contribution with the bat.
Powell and Fabian Allen (8*) ensured that the hosts scored 46 runs in the last four overs.
After a 10-minute break, India began their chase and KL Rahul hit pacer Sheldon Cotterell over long-off for six in the first over and the Indian fans, most of them Guyanese, waved Indian flags and danced in the stands.
Shikhar Dhawan (3) got a short ball on leg stump from Oshane Thomas and helped it straight to short fine leg in the second over at 10-1.
Allen saw Rahul coming down the track and bowled flatter and quicker; the ball went between bat and body and with Rahul out of his ground, Pooran took the bails off before the replay showed the ball took a slight inside-edge and he was given caught behind at 27-2.
Narine and Allen, both got some purchase from the surface but Rishabh Pant joined Captain Kholi and the pair batted in entertaining fashion; playing an array scintillating shots.
The 30-year-old Kholi flicked Narine off his pads past deep midwicket for a boundary to reach his 21st T20I half-century in his 70th game at this level before a clinical reverse sweep from Pant off the last ball of the over showed India’s dominance against the defending t20 World Cup Champions.
Thomas was stroked gloriously for four before he bowled a yorker and Kholi stroked it hard but straight to point were Evin Lewis took a low catch to end a magnificent inning but the left handed Pant finished off the over when he clipped a low full toss on leg stump, over deep backward square for four.
An immaculate push by Pant, over the head of West Indies’ most expensive bowler Braithwaite, which landed on the bottom of the sightscreen, finished the contest in style and gave India a clean 3-nil sweep of the T20 series.
West Indies will need a vastly improved performance if they hope to beat India tomorrow in the first ODI at Providence.
This will only be India’s third ODI game in Guyana and first since a Desmond Haynes’ century give West Indies a win at Bourda in 1989 after a masterful 90 from Sunil Gavaskar produced a win at Albion in 1983.

SCOREBOARD
WEST INDIES
E Lewis lbw b D Chahar 1
S Narine c Saini b D Chahar 2
S Hetmyer lbw b D Chahar 1
K Pollard b Saini 58
+N Pooran c wkp Pant b Saini 17
R Powell not out 32
*C Brathwaite c Sundar b R Chahar 10
F Allen not out 8
Extras (lb4, w4) 8
TOTAL (6 wkts, 20 overs) 146

Fall of wickets: 1-4 (Narine), 2-13 (Lewis),
3-14 (Hetmyer), 4-80 (Pooran),
5-105 (Pollard), 6-119 (Brathwaite)

Did not bat: K Paul, S Cottrell, O Thomas

Bowling: Kumar 3-0-19-0, D Chahar 3-1-4-3,
Saini 4-0-34-2, R Chahar 3-0-27-1,
Sundar 3-0-23-0 (w3), K Pandya 4-0-35-0 (w1).

INDIA
KL Rahul c wkp Pooran b Allen 20
S Dhawan c Cottrell b Thomas 3
*V Kohli c Lewis b Thomas 59
+R Pant not out 65
M Pandey not out 2
Extras (w1) 1
TOTAL (3 wkts, 19.1 overs) 150

Fall of wickets: 1-10 (Dhawan),
2-27 (Rahul), 3-133 (Kohli)

Did not bat: K Pandya, D Chahar,
W Sundar, B Kumar, R Chahar, N Saini.

Result: India won by seven wickets.
Series: India win three-match series 3-0.
Toss: India
Umpires: Nigel Duguid, Leslie Reifer;
TV – Gregory Brathwaite.

 

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