CHENNAI: The Holkar pitch in Indore with variable bounce finally gave something to cheer to bowlers even as the third T20I between India and West Indies saw both the teams scoring more than 200 runs each. For the hosts, it was opener Abhishek Sharma, who made the most of the conditions by hammering 69 off just 30 balls and adding 108 runs for the second wicket with Ishan Kishan.
At one point of time, the duo was running away with the game as India amassed 109 runs in eight overs but West Indies Test captain Roston Chase swung the momentum in his team's favour by claiming two wickets in his third over, ninth of the innings. He first sent back Kishan only a ball after being launched for a six. Chase then trapped India captain Shreyas Iyer before the stumps off the penultimate delivery.
That double strike pegged back the hosts as they lost two more wickets in the next two overs including Abhishek. Those three overs where India scored 27 runs and lost four wickets meant they were bowled out for 223 in allotted 20 overs.
In the second T20I in Ranchi where West Indies chased down a record target of 250, it was off-break bowler Chase, who emerged unscathed by claiming 3/24 from his quota of four overs even as other bowlers were taken for plenty. Once again he was to the fore bringing West Indies back into the game in his second spell.
While Chase was one of the reasons why India finished way below what they were expecting after Abhishek's fiery knock, a couple of run outs didn't help their cause. Vice captain Tilak Varma was involved in one of such instances as he ran himself out while not even attempting to get back to the non-striker's end. Axar Patel's hit was saved at the ropes by Kamil Pooran, but the Indian batters thought they had got a boundary. Having met at the middle of the pitch after completing a single, Axar got back into the crease in time before the stumps were broken. But Tilak was still strolling back and was caught well short of the crease when Gudakesh Motie broke the stumps off the throw from the stumper. A few balls later, Axar too was run-out after a mix-up with Arshdeep Singh.
Given their captain Shai Hope's form in the series so far, West Indies were the favourites when the game resumed after the break. Arshdeep Singh, however, castled him for his first score of below fifty after the first ODI to give Iyer and Co a big respite. Pacer Mayank Yadav kept it tight from the other end even as Kamil Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer tried to break the shackles. They stitched together a 60-run partnership for the second wicket but Naman Dhir bowled Hetmyer in the seventh over to break the momentum.
As a few balls kept low, West Indies batters could not collect boundaries at will, which in turn escalated the required run rate beyond their reach. Patel along with Dhir and Nitish Kumar Reddy chipped in with wickets too as Arshdeep finished his spell with three wickets. The pacer's last over, 18th of the innings, made all the difference in the end as he sent back Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford to end West Indies' hopes. The over yielded only eight runs.
The visitors needed 48 runs from the last two overs and Shamar Springer threatened to script a memorable win by slamming four sixes and a four but his efforts went in vain as India managed to win the contest by 14 runs.
Brief scores: India 223 in 20 ovs (Abhishek 69, Kishan 37; Chase 2/38, Springer 2/50) bt West Indies 209/7 in 20 ovs (Kamil 42, Hetmyer 43; Arshdeep 3/44, Dhir 2/39).