After facing criticism for his disappointing form in the ODIs and first two T20Is, Suryakumar Yadav made a strong comeback with a cracking knock of 83 off 44 deliveries. Teammate Tilak Varma, on the other hand, remained unbeaten on 49 runs. The two led India to a convincing seven-wicket win over hosts West Indies in the third T20I at Georgetown’s Providence Stadium. With this result, India have kept their hopes alive in the five match T20I series, trailing 1-2.
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After the early departure of debutant opener Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav was involved in a crucial partnership of 87 runs for the third wicket alongside Tilak Varma. Thereafter, India successfully chased down the 160-run target in 17.5 overs, reviving their hopes in the series after losing the first two matches.
Chasing 160 for a win, India faced an early setback when they lost Jaiswal in the opening over. However, Yadav began a deadly assault with his 360 degree strokes. But Shubman Gill departed inexpensively, gifting his wicket away in the fifth over with an attempt to execute a pull shot but ending up giving an easy catch to Jonatan Charles.
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Varma, who was the leading scorer in the first two games, maintained his form, hitting successive boundaries. Suryakumar and Varma unleashed a series of powerful shots, elevating the Power-play score to 60/2.
Yadav reached his 14th T20 half-century in just 23 balls, displaying fine form with a boundary. His continued his aggressive approach, reaching a milestone of 100 international sixes by dispatching a slower delivery for a maximum. Capitalising on this, he swiftly followed it up with another boundary. By the midway stage of the innings, India had firmly established their dominance at 97/2.
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Suryakumar’s impressive innings ended in the 13th over, directing Alzarri Joseph’s full toss towards the fine leg. King took an easy catch in the process. Subsequently, the stage belonged to Tilak, who looked to launch a few big shots but narrowly missed reaching his second fifty. Skipper Hardik Pandya sealed the chase with a maximum, ensuring that India stays alive in the series.
In the early stages, West Indies chose to bat and made a decent start with openers Kyle Mayers and Brandon King forming a solid 55-run opening partnership. However, India mounted a comeback as Kuldeep Yadav secured two wickets in a single over.
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The home team regained momentum through skipper Rovman Powell, who contributed an unbeaten 40 off 19 balls, propelling West Indies to a total of 159/5 in their allotted 20 overs.
