West Indies defeated Team India by 4 runs in a fiercely contested match, giving them a 1-0 series advantage under the leadership of Rovman Powell.
The Windies, who batted first in the T20I series, scored 149/6 and effectively held India to 145/9, earning a significant victory.
Earlier, West Indies skipper Rovman Powell chose to bat first after winning the toss at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba. Yuzvendra Chahal struck twice in his opening over to dismiss Kyle Mayers and Brandon King, giving the hosts a rocky start.
Johnson Charles was the next to leave the field as Kuldeep Yadav claimed his lone wicket of the evening with an incredible catch from Tilak Varma. At 58/3, the Windies were in trouble until Nicholas Pooran exploded for 41 runs in 34 balls.
Hardik Pandya, the captain, put a stop to Pooran’s counterattacking knock by having Tilak catch the ball once again in the deep. Powell, though, persisted in his onslaught.
The West Indies skipper was the last man to be removed from the game at 48, just missing a well-earned fifty. Shimron Hetmyer was dismissed after contributing 10 runs to the cause.
The best bowlers were Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal, who each contributed a pair of wickets, while Pandya and Kuldeep also each took one.
India were optimistic of reaching the score with a goal of 150 runs as Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill started for the Men in Blue. In the previous ODI played at the same location, Gill came close to scoring a century, but his poor play continued as he was bowled for only three runs.
Additionally, Kishan only managed to score 6 points before leaving, which made the visitors seem unsteady. The ship was steadied by vice-captain Suryakumar Yadav, who was joined by debutant Tilak Varma, who opened his international career with back-to-back sixes.
Even though skipper Pandya got 19 runs in 19 balls before being removed and Sanju Samson was run-out thanks to a stunning throw from Mayers, India were in serious danger until Surya added 21 runs in as many balls but he was bowled by Jason Holder.
With a few lusty late smashes, Axar Patel did his best to push India over the finish line, but when he was killed at 13, Arshdeep Singh kept the hopes alive with his late-innings batting cameo.
Powell and company ultimately prevailed against the top-ranked T20I squad and made sure India’s 200th T20I match resulted in a loss.