2nd T20I, Basseterre, August 01, 2022, 11:00 PM
138/10(19.4ov)
141/5(19.2ov)
West Indies beat India by 5 wickets
Right then, that is all we have from this thrilling encounter! The series is levelled at 1-1 and in a quick turnaround, the third T20I will be played on the same ground on Tuesday, 2nd of August. It will start at 8 pm IST (2.30 pm GMT). Our build-up though begins a lot earlier. So do join us for the same. Till then, goodbye and cheers!
Nicholas Pooran, the skipper of West Indies says that it was very pleasing win and he can finally breathe now. He says there have been a couple of close games which they lost but it feels good to be on the winning side this time. He praises Obed McCoy along with other bowlers and says that they did a wonderful job restricting India to a below par score. He says the batters gave a really good start but in the middle they lost their way a bit, nevertheless a win is a win. He tells that it did not work for him and Hetmyer today but they want to continue taking the responsibility. He also praised King for the way he batted and says that he should learn from this game and finish games off in the future. He tells Thomas returned from an injury and managed to put up a nice performance on his home ground. He ends by saying that Obed McCoy is a bit of a freak and they need to deal with it but it is lovely to have him in the team as he gives them a left-arm option as well.
Rohit Sharma, the skipper of India is in for a chat. He starts by saying they did not get enough runs on the board. He says they will try to learn from the mistakes they made in this game and hopefully they will come back stronger. On giving the final over to Avesh Khan, he says that it is important to put them into tough situations and give them a feel of how it is to bowl under pressure for India. These young bowlers have done it in the Indian T20 League but this is a different ball game. Also adds that with these performances, they shouldn't let themselves down. Mentions they shouldn't panic after losing a game.
Obed McCoy is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his incredible bowling performance. He starts by thanking God and says that he has been doing this for his mom who is sick and that keeps him motivated. He says that getting wickets in the powerplay was key. He adds that in the previous match he was overthinking and he improved that in this game which helped him to execute his plans. He ends by saying he is thankful for all the experiences and challenges.
Presentation time.
Earlier in the game, India struggled with the bat after Pooran decided to bowl first on a tricky pitch. Obed McCoy was the star for the Windies as he took a six-fer and that gave Windies a great chance coming into the second half. It turned out to a quite a thrilling chase in the end and it was West Indies who managed to get the better of India on the day.
Indian bowlers should be credited for taking the game to the final over. They were defending a very modest total and needed early wickets but sadly it was not the case in this game. However, Pandya bowled brilliantly in the middle overs along with the spinners and that kept India in the game. Avesh Khan got an important wicket of King in the 16th over and Arshdeep Singh once again showed why he is rated so highly as he gave away just 6 runs in the 19th over and got a big wicket of Powell. Avesh Khan was trusted in the final over by the skipper over Bhuvneshwar Kumar but unfortunately for him, things did not go according to the plan for the youngster.
West Indies were chasing a below-par total and they got off to a perfect start with the bat as well as the Windies openers went onto score 46 runs in the Powerplay. Mayers departed just after the Powerplay but Pooran and King steadied the ship and West Indies were at one stage motoring along nicely towards a comfortable victory. However, Pooran departed in the 10th over and Hetmyer too could not last long. West Indies still were in a comfortable position with just 38 needed off 30 balls and seven wickets in hand. The wicket of King brought some panic in the Windies dressing room and it came to the situation where the Windies needed 10 off the last over and Thomas came to the rescue and finished the game for the Windies after some nervy moments in the final few overs.
WEST INDIES PULL OFF A LAST-OVER THRILLER! Spare a thought for Avesh Khan. He started the over defending 9 but perhaps on the very first ball itself, sealed the fate. Yes, Thomas did hit a six and a four but had that first ball not been a no ball, maybe, this game could have had a different or a longer finish. Anyways, West Indies have levelled the series but they nearly made a mess of it in the death overs. However, they have managed to cross the line in the end and this sets us up nicely for the remaining three games of this series.
In over# 20
4
6
2nb
Avesh Khan 31/1(2.2)
19.2
4
FOUR! Devon Thomas gets the winning runs with a fine boundary. It is a length ball, outside off. Devon Thomas cuts it through point for four. WEST INDIES WIN THE GAME BY 5 WICKETS.
19.1
6
SIX! BOOM! Devon Thomas stomping his authourity with the blade! It is a short ball, outside off. Devon Thomas stands tall and smokes it over the long on fence for a maximum.
19.1
2nb
A low full toss, on off. Smith hits it hard to long off. The batters take one. Oh, no! The umpire signals a no ball as the bowler oversteps. Free Hit to follow.
Avesh Khan will bowl the final over! This is quite surprising, Rohit Sharma has opted for Avesh Khan over Bhuvneshwar Kumar! Maybe, he wants to put the youngster in the tough situation ahead of the World Cup and want to see how he responds.
In over# 19
2
1
0
2
0W
1
Arshdeep Singh 26/1(4)
18.6
2
A full-length ball, on off. Devon Thomas comes down the track and drives it towards sweeper cover. Dinesh Karthik sprints to his right and keeps it down to two runs. 10 needed in the final over now!
18.5
1
Two is the call but they only get one! It is a low full toss, on off. Smith slaps it down to long off. Hardik Pandya is quick to get to the ball. They take one. 12 needed in 7 balls.
18.4
.
Swing and a miss! Full length, wide outside off. Smith tries to go downtown but only connects with thin air.
18.3
2
Overthrows this time! It is full, on off. Smith pushes it to extra cover and scampers across for a quick single. Avesh Khan collects the ball and has a shy at the non-striker's end but misses. There is no one backing up and the batters take one more.