West Indies won the five-match series 3-2 with opener Brandon King’s swashbuckling 85 not out off 55 balls paving the way for a 18-over cakewalk.
Brief Score: West Indies 171 for 2 (King 85*, Pooran 47) beat India 165 for 9 (Suryakumar 61, Shephard 4-31, Hosein 2-24) by eight wickets
Player of the Match: Romario Shepherd
A resolute West Indies handed Indian captain Hardik Pandya his first bilateral series defeat by winning the 5th T20I comfortably by eight wickets in Lauderhill on August 13. West Indies clinched the five-match series 3-2, with opener Brandon King’s explosive unbeaten 85 off 55 balls leading the way.
Within 24 hours of producing a batting master-class on a featherbed, the Indian batters, save Suryakumar Yadav’s scratchy yet effective 61 off 45 balls, posted a sub-par score of 165 for nine after opting to bat on a used track that had become slower.
In response, Nicholas Pooran (47 * off 35 balls) shone for West Indies, but opener King’s performance overshadowed his as they added 107 runs for the second wicket, putting West Indies in command despite three weather-related interruptions.
On same track where the Caribbean bowlers put the Indian batters under tight leash, the bowling attack looked horribly out of depth barring Kuldeep Yadav (0/18), who delivered yet another steady performance. Yuzvendra Chahal (0/51 in 4 overs) had a forgettable day at office.
Once West Indies reached 60 in the powerplay, they maintained the tempo, with most Indian bowlers pitching the ball short, allowing Pooran to take advantage.
However, it was India’s batting that proved to be their downfall, as they struggled to gain momentum in both the middle and end overs. Even Surya couldn’t maintain his usual aggressive style due to the slow pitch.
The track, which gripped the ball from the start, favored the West Indies spinners, particularly Akeal Hosein (2/24 in 4 overs) and Roston Chase (1/25 in 4 overs), who combined to bowl eight overs for just 49 runs and took three wickets.
India’s top-order batsmen Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, and Tilak Varma didn’t trouble the scorers, falling victim to the conditions. Surya managed to score his 15th T20I fifty, but it was less fluent than usual.
In the end, India’s total was inadequate and West Indies chased the target with 12 balls remaining.
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