India see off Rovman Powell's blistering knock, seal T20I series against WI

India's fast bowlers withstood a spectacular, no-holds barred onslaught from West Indies in the second T20I to win by eight runs and take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series at Eden Gardens on Friday. In Kieron Pollard's 100th T20I, Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell put together 100 runs in 60 balls to get West Indies from a seemingly hapless position to within sniffing distance of victory.

Needing 103 in 50 balls, West Indies worked down that equation to 63 from 30 and then 29 off 12 balls but an excellent 19th over from Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1/29) gave Harshal Patel 25 to defend. Patel conceded two huge sixes and four singles to cap off a lacklustre bowling effort where spinners Yuzvendra Chahal (1/31) and Ravi Bishnoi (1/30) negated Patel and Deepak Chahar's over-10 economies. Barring Ishan Kishan who struggled to put bat to ball before miscuing Sheldon Cottrell to Mayers at point, India's batters were pretty much on song as Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant hit fifties to propel the score to 186/5.

Rohit Sharma looked every bit imperious while dispatching Sheldon Cottrell through the backward point boundary before heaving Jason Holder over midwicket. Even his mishit off Romario Shepherd flew over sweeper cover for six. Luck wasn't on Sharma's side the next time and he ended up slicing the ball with Brandon King—who had dropped him at point in the fourth over—running in from cover to take the catch and give Roston Chase his first wicket of the game.

With a fine boundary through backward point, Suryakumar Yadav promised another riveting innings but was dismissed cheaply. Pant and Venkatesh Iyer then took over to provide India the finish they were aiming for, milking West Indies for 62 runs in the last five overs while adding 76 runs for their fifth-wicket stand. West Indies had started losing their way much earlier though, bowling at least two loose balls every over after the 13-over mark. In consecutive overs, Pant and Iyer took turns to hit six boundaries off Pollard and Cottrell, finding gaps and coming hard on anything down the leg. West Indies responded well, tinkering with their lengths and taking pace off the ball but Iyer and Pant compensated for lack of boundaries by exploiting the gaps. Only 20 runs came through boundaries and sixes in the last four overs but India still added 47 runs.

If Pant was the anchor of the slog-over spree, Kohli was the reason India kept chugging along after Kishan and Sharma's dismissals. This innings was a departure from Kohli's usual ground-shot heavy approach though. By making room and swatting Holder over cover six balls into his innings, Kohli displayed his willingness to not let West Indies ramp up the pressure. Next over, he didn't even shuffle while lifting Romario Shepherd back over his head for a boundary before following it up with a more Kohli-like back-foot drive through extra cover.

"Sometimes you play with responsibility over a period of time, you tend to ask if you want to play the big shots early," Kohli told the official broadcaster after India's innings. "You don't want to be reckless but at the same time you want to play your shots. That is the balance you strive for. Today, I was happy with that balance."

That balance not only meant timing and placing the ball well but also pressing the fielders every time he pierced the gaps. From taking a single despite failing to connect well with Holder's 104 kph slower to steering Odean Smith's raw pace very late off his body through third man, Kohli was all about conviction till Chase finally snuck through the gate.