Bishnoi, Surya, Rohit lead India to six-wicket win over WI
West Indies batted first and put up a total of 157/7 and Venkatesh finished the chase with a six. India won the game with seven balls to spare and thus took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Rohit Sharma's 40 off 19 balls and an unbeaten 48-run partnership between Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer helped India to a six-wicket win over the West Indies on Wednesday at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.
West Indies batted first and put up a total of 157/7 and Venkatesh finished the chase with a six. India won the game with seven balls to spare and thus took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
India were off to a flier while chasing a target of 158 largely thanks to Rohit, who scored 40 runs in just 19 balls. Rohit hit four fours and three sixes but his innings was ended by Roston Chase as the Indian captain holed out at midwicket.
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Rohit's opening partner Ishan Kishan, who struggled to get going could scored just 35 runs in 42 balls becoming Chase's second wicket of the night. Virat Kohli's poor form then continued as he fell on 17 off 13 to Fabian Allen.
West Indies seemed to be on their way to pulling off an extraordinary defence when vice-captain Rishabh Pant fell for eight runs off as many balls. However, the in-form Suryakumar Yadav then took control of the chase. Assisted ably by Venkatesh Iyer, the pair saw India over the finish line with their partnership reading 48 off 26 balls in the end.
Earlier, wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran starred with the bat as he scored 61 off 43 balls to lead West Indies beyond the 157-run mark.
The visitors were off to a shaky start as they lost Brandon King (4) on the fifth ball of the innings. Kyle Mayers and Pooran then scored briskly and after the end of powerplay overs, West Indies' score read 44/1. The 47-run stand for the second wicket was cut short by Yuzvendra Chahal as he had Mayers (31) adjudged leg-before wicket in the seventh over.
Ravi Bishnoi got his maiden T20I wicket in the 11th over of the innings as he had Roston Chase (4) adjudged leg-before wicket. In the very same over, Bishnoi dismissed Rovman Powell (2) and the visitors were reduced to 74/4. Nicholas Pooran kept on holding one end up and the visitors were looking for a big finish in the final overs.
In the final four overs, West Indies managed to add 49 more runs to the total, and in the end, the team from the Caribbean posted a score of more than the 150-run mark. Pooran was dismissed by Harshal Patel but it was not before the left-hander played a knock of 61. Kieron Pollard (24*) remained unbeaten for the visitors.
