Brandon King’s Stellar Performance Secures West Indies’ T20I Series Victory Against India
Explosive innings from Jamaican batsman helps Caribbean side gain revenge for ODI and Test series defeats
Jamaican duo Brandon King and Rovman Powell steered the Windies to a morale-boosting T20I series triumph over world no.1 side India, sealed with a comfortable eight-wicket success in Florida on Sunday.
Skipper Powell kicked off the five-match T20I series with back-to-back victories at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago), bouncing back from the disappointing ODI and Test series defeats.
The Windies stuttered in the 3rd T20I, defeated by seven wickets inside the Guyana National Stadium in Georgetown. Powell’s troops were embarrassingly thrashed by nine wickets in the Saturday’s 4th T20I inside the Broward County Stadium at Lauderhill in Florida.
Down to the deciding 5th T20I back at the Broward County Stadium, the momentum was firmly with India who had been emphatic on their tour.
Yet it was the Windies who truly turned on the style and showed some rare fighting spirit to seal the series 3-2.
Powell admitted: “It’s difficult to put words to it. Adjectives are inadequate in describing how we feel. The guys are elated. It’s a very big series for us to beat India at home.”
India won the toss and elected to bat, only for seamer Romario Shepherd to deliver his career-best figures with 4-31. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and ex-captain Jason Holder each picked up a pair of wickets as India struggled at the crease to reach just 165-9.
Their only quick runs came from Suryakumar Yadav (61 off 45 deliveries) and Tilak Varma (27 off 18 balls), as the Windies showed that they can be a force to be reckoned with despite being in the doldrums for years.
In response, hard-hitting King stole the show with a dynamic display at the crease. He found the boundary 11 times to finish as top scorer with an unbeaten 85 off 55 balls.
After the Windies lost Kyle Mayers (10), Man-of-the-Series Nicholas Pooran joined King in the middle. The pair set the stadium alight with a string of beautifully crafted shots for a second-wicket partnership of 107. Pooran notched 47 off 35 deliveries, but was back in the pavilion twice. Once during the 40-minute rain break, and then caught by India skipper Hardik Pandya off part-time spinner Tilak Varma.
Shai Hope replaced Pooran, and confidently smashed 22 off 13 balls as the Windies eased to a comfortable victory to win the series 3-2 for an extremely rare series success at any format for the Caribbean side.
T20I SERIES | WI WON 3-2
1st T20I (Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago) | Windies won by four runs
India | 149-6 (20 overs)
WI | 145-9 (20 overs)
2nd T20I (Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago) | Windies won by two wickets
India | 157-7 (20 overs)
WI | 155-8 (18.5 overs)
3rd T20I (Guyana National Stadium, Georgetown, Guyana) | India won by seven wickets
WI | 159-5 (20 overs)
India | 164-3 (17.5 overs)
4th T20I (Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida, USA) | India won by nine wickets
WI | 178-8 (20 overs)
India | 179-1 (17 overs)
5th T20I (Broward County Stadium, Lauderhill, Florida, USA) | Windies won by eight wickets
India | 165-9 (20 overs)
WI | 171-2 (18 overs)
ODI SERIES | INDIA WON 2-1
1st ODI (Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados) | India won by five wickets
WI | 114 all out (23.0 overs)
India | 118-5 (22.5 overs)
2nd ODI (Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados) | Windies won by six wickets
India | 181 all out (40.5 overs)
WI | 182-4 (36.4 overs)
3rd ODI (Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba, Trinidad & Tobago) | India won by 200 runs
India | 351-5 (50 overs)
WI | 151 all out (35.3 overs)
TEST SERIES | INDIA WON 1-0
1st Test (Windsor Park, Roseau, Dominica) | India won by an innings and 141 runs
WI | 150 all out (64.3 overs) & 130 all out (50.3 overs)
India | 421-5 dec (152.2 overs)
2nd Test (Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad & Tobago) | Match drawn
India | 438 all out (128 overs) & 181-2 (24 overs)
WI | 255 all out (115.4 overs) & 76-2 (32 overs)
Download The Jamaican Blogs™ App for your Android device: HERE
Remember to share this article on Facebook and other Social Media Platforms. To submit your own articles or to advertise with us please send us an EMAIL at: [email protected]