India destroy West Indies in Florida to close out T20I series

By Brandon Corlette in Florida

The West Indies have suffered a 59-run defeat against India in match 4 of their 5-match T20I Series, played before a sold-out crowd at the Central Broward County Stadium in Florida, USA.

This defeat means that India have taken an unassailable 3-1 lead in the series.
After a solid, collective bowling effort, India, having posted 191-5 in 20 overs, effectively restricted the Men in Maroon to 132 all out in 19.1 overs.

Stop-start West Indies batting
Nicholas Pooran’s run-out may have summed up the West Indies’ batting effort, in which everything lacked sync. Brandon King and Kyle Mayers had gotten off to a rocket start, with King slamming three fours in the first over, bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar, which yielded 14 runs.

In the next over, bowled by Avesh Khan, King had a soft dismissal when he was caught and bowled for 13.

Devon Thomas, promoted to number three, was dismissed for one, caught at mid-off.
Captain Pooran came, and struck 24 from eight balls as he took Axar Patel to the cleaners. After striking three maximums and one four, he was run out when he was left high and dry by his partner Mayers.
By then the West Indies were reduced to 49-3 in five overs, and Mayers made only 14 before he lost his wicket, further reducing the West Indies to 64-4 in seven overs.
Rovman Powell, batting ahead of Shimron Hetmyer, came and struck two sixes down the ground, but was dismissed by a Patel full toss for 24. Half of the side were now back in the hut with only 82 runs on the board, and Hetmyer was under pressure to score big at that stage.
Holder, who struck one four and a six, was out caught for 13 with the score on 101-6 in 11.2 overs, and things continued downhill for the West Indies as wickets continued to fall at regular intervals.
Having taken some time to get going, Hetmyer was dismissed for a run-a-ball 19, being bowled all ends up by the wrist-spinner Ravi Bishnoi as he attempted to make room. He had struck two fours and one six before he departed with West Indies on 116-8 in 15 overs.
At that stage, West Indies required 76 runs off the last five overs, and Arshdeep Singh was the star bowler with 3-12 in 3.1 overs, while Bishnoi, Khan and Patel had each taken two wickets.

McCoy’s expensive outing
Earlier, the unchanged West Indies won the toss and opted to bowl first in good batting conditions. India got off to a brisk start, with openers Suryakumar Yadav and Rohit Sharma contributing 53 runs to the team’s score. Having slammed three sixes and two fours, Sharma was dismissed by the impressive Akeal Hosein, who shattered the India captain’s stumps after he had made a 16-ball 33.
But the Indians had come out with a plan: to destroy Obed McCoy early, and they succeeded in tearing apart the left-arm quick for 25 runs in his first over. The packed Central Broward County Stadium watched as Yadav played some innovative shots, but after he had made 24 from 14 balls, he was trapped in front by the quick Alzarri Joseph, with the score being at 61-2 after 5.3 overs.
India continued to accumulate runs with ease, and Deepak Hooda, who looked promising, made a 19-ball 21 before being dismissed by Joseph with the score being at 108-3 after 11.2 overs.
At that stage, India had looked set to score in excess of 200 runs, but some decent bowling from Hosein, Joseph, Holder and Drakes put the brakes on India.
The dangerous Rishabh Pant came and threatened with his fearless strokeplay, and he made 44 from 31 balls after hitting six boundaries. He, however, was removed by the expensive McCoy, who finally got redemption with India being reduced to 146-4 in 15 overs.
Sanju Samson came and played a solid hand in scoring an unbeaten 30, while India’s designated finisher, Dinesh Karthik, made only six from nine balls. He was bowled behind his legs by McCoy when the score was 164-5 in 18.1 overs. Samson, who stroked two fours and one six, watched Axar Patel finish the innings in style, slamming two sixes and one four in his eight-ball 20.
Nicholas Pooran opted to use five bowlers only, and Joseph claimed 2-29 in his four overs. However, Hosein was in fine form with the ball, claiming 1-28 in four overs. McCoy had a hard day at the office, claiming 2-66 in four overs, and that was the most expensive spell by a West Indian. India ended on 191-5 in 20 overs, and this was their second highest total without a batsman scoring a half-century.
The two teams will meet again today, Sunday August 7, at the same venue in Florida from 10:30h Eastern Caribbean time.