After his team defeated India in a T20I series, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell remarked that there are no words to adequately express the thrill of victory and praised his bowlers for being able to contain such an elite batting unit as India.
At the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground on Sunday, West Indies defeated India 3-2 to win the five-match T20I series. Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King contributed much to this victory.
“Words are tough to find. It’s challenging to use adjectives even here. There were many things at risk. Last night, we gathered and had a meeting. People in the Caribbean yearned for pleasant things. Honor to the coaching staff. After the defeat, we might have easily panicked. We made wise preparations. I place a lot of value on individual performances. The squad will profit if one member can perform. We wanted our star player, Nicholas Pooran, to deliver in at least three of the five games, and he did. Nobody can perform well in every game, so we urged him to attempt to win three of them, said Rovman Powell at the post-game awards ceremony.
“Credit to the bowling team for controlling this strong Indian batting order. The supporters deserve a lot of praise. They helped us out when the going got tough. Seeing our supporters, both in person and online, on social media, keeps us inspired. We appreciate everyone’s support, he continued.
India made the poor decision to bat first, as Men in Blue rapidly fell to 17/2 after losing openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) and Shubman Gill (9) to early wickets. After these two little blips, Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma (27 in 18 balls with three fours and two sixes) produced a 49-run partnership. It was essentially downhill for India once Tilak was fired. Suryakumar struck 61 runs in 45 balls (four boundaries and a six), but captain Hardik Pandya (14) and Sanju Samson (13) couldn’t really help out the top-ranked T20I batter from the other end. India concluded with a score of 165/9 in their 20 overs as wickets kept dropping.
India’s momentum throughout the innings was halted by a four-wicket haul by Romario Shepherd (4/31) as he secured the vital dismissals of Samson and Pandya. Both of the openers were taken out by Akael Hosein (2/24) while Suryakumar’s key wicket was secured by Jason Holder (2/36).
WI easily lost Kyle Mayers (10) in the pursuit of 166. However, a 107-run stand between Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King (47 in 35 balls, with one four and four sixes) dramatically turned the tide of the match in India’s favor when Tilak removed Pooran. Together with Shai Hope (22* in 13 balls), King led WI to victory with two overs remaining. King scored 85* in 55 balls, including five fours and six sixes.
For India, Tilak and Arshdeep each grabbed a wicket.
The ‘Player of the Match’ honor went to Shepherd for his four-for-four.
With a top score of 67 and a strike rate of almost 142, Pooran was named “Player of the Series” after scoring 176 runs in five games.