On Thursday, the first T20 International match between India and the West Indies took place, in which the Indian team lost by 4 runs. The Indian team has already lost an ODI to the host team on the West Indies tour. India’s loss to the West Indies is extremely embarrassing as recent qualifiers prevented the Caribbean team from qualifying for the World Cup.
In World Cup qualifying, the West Indies were beaten in the group stage by Zimbabwe by 35 runs and in the Super Six stage by Scotland by 7 wickets. In such a situation, India’s defeat by the West Indies is a growing concern. In the current ICC T20 International rankings, the Indian team is ranked number one and the West Indies seventh. In such a situation, it is a shame for number one India to lose to number seven.
In the match, the West Indies won the toss and decided to bat first. The host team scored 149 runs for 6 wickets in 20 overs. For the team, captain Rovman Powell hit 48 runs in 32 balls with the help of three fours and three sixes. Additionally, wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran added 41 balls from 34 with the help of two fours and two sixes.
In the pursuit of 150 runs, the Indian team’s batting seemed unsuccessful from the start. The team lost the first wicket in the form of opener Shubman Gill (3) on the second ball of the third over. Then, on the last ball of the fifth over, second opener Ishan Kishan (3) also went on. In this way, the Indian team had lost two wickets in just 28 runs.
After that, Surya was sent off on the second ball of the 10th over. Tilak Verma, who finished fourth, led the innings for a time but also returned to the pavilion after scoring 39 runs with the help of 2 fours and 3 sixes. Then Captain Hardik Pandya (19) dropped out. Then Sanju Samson (12) retired. Then, on the first ball of the 19th over, Akshar Patel returned to the pavilion after 13 runs. In this way, Team India kept losing wickets and in the end the team suffered a defeat.