West Indies suffered a nine-wicket thrashing at the hands of India in the penultimate T20I.
Opting to bat first, West Indies posted 178/8 in their allotted 20 overs on the back of Shimron Hetmyer’s 39-ball 61.
In reply, the duo of Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill took the Caribbean attack to the cleaners. They shared a record 165-run partnership for the opening wicket to put India on the brink of victory.
While Gill got out after scoring 77 in 47 balls, Jaiswal stayed unbeaten on 84 from 51 balls to take the visitors over the line with three overs to spare.
Speaking after the match, Powell said the surface was good for batting but insisted that they fell 10 to 15 runs short in the first innings.
“It's a pretty good batting surface. We were maybe 10-15 runs short. Having said that, Hetmyer and Hope played well. There's quality bowling in our unit. We didn't stick to our plans, you'll always find under pressure against quality batters,” Powell said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“From the start of the series, we always knew it's gonna come down to how we bat against spin. We didn't bat well in the middle overs. If we can improve against spin, then we'll do well,” he added.
With this victory, India drew level in the five-match T20I series. The decider will be played in Florida on Sunday (August 13).
“It's 2-2, both teams have played well to reach where they are. Tomorrow is the final and in a final, I'd back West Indies. I am feeling okay and ready to the lead the guys again tomorrow,” Powell concluded.