West Indies take 2-0 lead over India in T20 cricket

August 09, 2023 in Sports

West Indies survived a late scare to beat India by two wickets with seven balls remaining in their second Twenty20 cricket international on Sunday.

Chasing a target of 153, West Indies dropped from 126-4 to 129-8. The collapse started when Mukesh Kumar dismissed top-scorer Nicholas Pooran, who hit 67 runs in 40 balls.

West Indies still had four overs left but only two wickets with another 24 runs needed. The hosts were saved by Akeal Hosein (16 not out) and Alzarri Joseph (10 not out), who shared an unbroken 26-run stand to take West Indies to 155-8 in 18.5 overs.

Allrounder Hardik Pandya was India’s most successful bowler with 3-35 in four overs.

The victory gives West Indies a 2-0 lead in the five-match contest. That’s one win away from clinching the series before it moves to the United States for the last two games.

Earlier, India won the toss and reached 152-7.

Tilak Varma top-scored for India with a 41-ball 51. He shared a 42-run partnership for the third wicket with Ishan Kishan (27) and a 38-run stand for the fifth wicket with Hardik, who scored 24 in 18 before he was bowled by Joseph.

Hosein (2-29), Joseph (2-28) and Romario Shepherd (2-28) did most of the damage for the hosts.

The teams will stay in Providence, Guyana, for the third T20 on Tuesday, with the final two matches set for Lauderhill, Florida, on Aug. 12 and 13.

West Indies won the opener by four runs and kept the same team. India made one change with Ravi Bishnoi replacing injured Kuldeep Yadav.