Indian batters Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer added 48 unbeaten and important runs as they helped the home side beat West Indies by 6 wickets in the first T20I of the three-match series in Eden Gardens in Kolkata on February 16.
Under the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, the Indian cricket team continued its good performance in the ongoing limited-overs series against the West Indies. After clinching the ODI series 3-0, India got off to a winning start in the 1st T20I, thanks to equal contributions from the batters and bowlers.
Debutant leggie Ravi Bishnoi and pacer Harshal Patel picked two wickets each as, despite Nicholas Pooran’s 61, West Indies managed 157/7 after being asked to bat first in Kolkata.
Then captain Rohit Sharma smoked 40 in 19 balls, but after he, Ishan Kishan (35), Virat Kohli (17), and Rishabh Pant (8) fell in quick succession, Suryakumar Yadav (34* in 18 balls) and Venkatesh Iyer (24* in 13 balls), added 48* runs for the fifth wicket and took India past the finishing line with 7 balls to spare.
While it was tense out there as Surya and Iyer took control of the chase, the Mumbai batter was heard motivating the MP all-rounder in a viral video on social media. A video has surfaced online where Suryakumar Yadav can be seen pointing at Iyer and saying: "Venky, tujhe match jitaana hai (Venky, you have to win the match for us).”
The second T20I of the series will be played on February 18 at the same venue.
