West Indies continued their dominance in T20Is at home, as they defeated India in the fifth and final T20I which was played in Florida on August 13 by 8 wickets to pocket the series 3-2.
India captain Hardik Pandya won the toss and chose to bat first. However, unlike the last match, Indian batters struggled to come good on the same pitch at the same venue.
Akeal Hosein struck twice early on, removing openers Shubman Gill (9) and Yashasvi Jaiswal (5) with 17 runs on the board. This was Shubman Gill’s 4th score in single-digits in this series.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma (27) added 49 runs for the third wicket. But after Tilak fell, none of the other Indian batters put on a substantial score on the board. Suryakumar top-scored for India with 61 in 45 balls with 4 fours and 3 sixes to his name.
India could only manage 165/9 in 20 overs. Romario Shepherd was the pick of the bowlers for West Indies with 4/31, while Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder took two wickets each.
WI v IND 2023: ‘Losing is good at times’ says Hardik Pandya after West Indies clinch T20I series 3-2
Arshdeep Singh gave India an early wicket by dismissing Kyle Mayers for 10 runs, but Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran took the game away from India with a 107-run partnership for the second wicket.
Pooran fell for 47 runs in 35 with 4 sixes and 1 four, while Brandon King made 85* in 55 balls with 5 fours and 6 sixes to his name. King, along with Shai Hope (22* in 13 balls) took West Indies over the finishing line in 18 overs and with 8 wickets in hand.
With this, the hosts won the T20I series 3-2.
Some decisions of India captain Hardik Pandya came in for scrutiny especially his bowling changes as India ended their multi-format tour of West Indies with a series loss in T20Is.
The Indian cricket fraternity was not happy with the way Men in Blue side played and had a word of advice on social media.
Here are some reactions:
