The Indian team came into the third T20I against West Indies 0-2 down and needed to win this match to avoid losing the five-match series. The third T20I was played at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on August 8, 2023.
Rovman Powell won the toss and chose to bat first. He also revealed that Jason Holder was out with a knee injury and Roston Chase replaced him in the XI.
India, on the other hand, made two changes as Kuldeep Yadav came back into the XI in place of Ravi Bishnoi and Yashasvi Jaiswal made his T20I debut, in place of Ishan Kishan.
West Indies got a swift start of 55 runs in 7.3 overs as Brandon King (42) and Kyle Mayers (25) got off to a flier. But Kuldeep Yadav and Akshar Patel removed them in quick succession.
Johnson Charles made 12 before falling to Kuldeep and Nicholas Pooran hammered 20 runs in 12 balls, before being stumped by Sanju Samson off Kuldeep, leaving West Indies 105/3 in 14.1 overs.
In the end, West Indies posted 159/5 in 20 overs, thanks to skipper Rovman Powell hammering 40* in 19 balls with 3 sixes and one four to his name.
Kuldeep Yadav picked 3/28 and became the fastest Indian bowler to 50 T20I wickets.
In response, debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal got out for one run trying to take advantage of the powerplay overs. Shubman Gill’s poor form in this T20I series continued as he only managed 6 runs.
However, Tilak Varma and Suryakumar Yadav added 87 runs for the third wicket in only 8.2 overs, helping give India an advantage in the chase.
Suryakumar Yadav was brutal on opposition bowlers, unleashing his full array of strokes all around the Providence Stadium. He looked good for another T20I century but was dismissed for 83 runs and 44 balls with 10 fours and 4 sixes to his name.
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But the young Tilak Varma continued to momentum with some brilliant batting on showcase. He remained unbeaten on 49 in 37 balls, while Hardik Pandya made 20*, hitting a six to seal the win.
India won the match with quite an ease with 7 wickets in hand and managed to stay alive in the series with this win. The last two T20Is of the series will be played in Florida, USA on August 12 and 13.
The cricket fraternity on social media were all praiseful of Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma's performance with the bat.
Here are some reactions:
