Rain-Marred 5th T20I Called Off, India-WI Share Five-Match Series 2-2
India and the West Indies fittingly shared a closely-fought T20 series 2-2 after the rain-marred fifth and final match was called off 7.4 overs into the hosts’ innings here on Saturday.
But before the match was called off at 10.18 pm due to rain, Ishan Kishan and Naman Dhir played powerful cameos as India raced to an impressive 118 for five after the match was reduced to a nine-over-a-side contest.
Kishan (30, 10b) and Dhir (24 not out, 6b) put the Windies attack to sword after India were asked to bat first.
The play began at 9.15pm after a prolonged spell of rain that started around 4pm.
Once the proceedings began, India batters quickly got into their job after being asked to bat first.
Abhishek Sharma started with a flicked six off Keemo Paul, but the pacer had the last laugh. A weak flick off Paul by Sharma ended in the hands of Shamar Joseph at the edge of the circle.
The weather prediction was for a thunderstorm in the night but it came through Ishan Kishan.
The left-hander peppered the boundaries and the aggrieved party was pacer Romario Shepherd, whose first over went for 24 runs.
Kishan clobbered him for two sixes and as many fours to subdue the West Indian brutally. The scooped six over square leg was a standout shot in that over.
Sanju Samson too played a stunner in his short stay, an upper cut off Shamar Joseph over point.
But West Indies dismissed both Kishan and Samson to gain some ground. Kishan’s weak lift off Joseph was taken by Rovman Powell while Shamar Springer knocked off Samson’s off-stump.
Skipper Shreyas Iyer, who was dropped on 18, played some strong shots but eventually perished to Paul, caught in the deep by Joseph.
India were 88 for four in the seventh over, and needed some more runs to present Windies with a tough chase.
Dhir did it in the final two overs with an excellent cameo in which he powered Paul for two sixes and a four, as Tilak Varma struggled for an instant lift-off.
But rain came back to halt the Indian innings at 10.03pm, and the cut-off time for a five-over chase for the tourists was 10.21 pm.
However, the rain never relented thereafter, putting an end to the match and series in which the Caribbeans pushed defending two-time world champions India to the brink.
Windies skipper Shai Hope was the lead character of the series, having amassed 261 runs across four matches with two hundreds.
