India suffered a disappointing eight-wicket defeat against West Indies in the fifth T20I match to suffer an embarrassing series defeat by 2-3 on Sunday, August 14. Suryakumar Yadav's fifty helped India to post a fighting 166-run target while batting first but Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran recorded brilliant knocks to help West Indies win in five-match series against India for the first time.
Star pace all-rounder Romario Shepherd took four wickets and spinner Akeal Hosein bagged two to restrict India to 165 runs. Then Brandon King smashed unbeaten 85 off 55 and in-form Pooran scored 47 runs to stun the no.1 T20I team at home. This is India's first defeat in the last 13 T20I series and it has come against the team which failed to qualify for last year's T20 World Cup and the upcoming ODI World Cup 2023.
Hardik Pandya won the toss and elected to bat first at Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill. West Indies made two changes to their playing eleven with Alzarri Joseph and Roston Chase coming back but India stuck with their winning combination.
Last game's heroes Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill failed to replicate their form and lost wickets in the first three overs. In-form youngster Tilak Varma shone with a small cameo of 27 runs but Suryakumar played another crucial knock to return to form. But the likes of Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel and Sanju Samson continue to struggle in this series with disappointing knocks.
Arshdeep Singh gave India a promising start with Kyle Mayers' early wicket but India failed to build their momentum. Rain and lightning interrupted the game a few times but West Indies batters Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King stood firm in their chase with a match-defining 107-run stand for the second wicket.
Tilak picked his maiden international wicket to dismiss Pooran in the 14th over but it was too late to stage a comeback for the Men in Blue. King accelerated his innings after scoring fifty and finished the game by smashing Yashasvi for a huge six over the long on to win the game in just 18 overs.
West Indies Playing XI: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph
India Playing XI: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Sanju Samson (wk), Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar
