WI vs IND, 4th T20I: Dominant Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal hand India series levelling win in Florida
Resurgent India dominated West Indies in the 4th T20I match of the series to draw the T20I series level on Saturday, 12 August at Lauderhill, Florida. Young India openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal thrashed the Windies bowlers in batting friendly conditions to notch up 165 runs for the opening partnership – the joint highest by Indians in the T20I format of the game.
Gill departed in the 16th over of the game after hitting 77 off 47 balls, having assured India’s victory in the must-win game in Florida. This was the first time in the series that both openers looked assured of themselves and mauled everything that was thrown at them.
Yashasvi Jaiswal was especially impressive while batting, attacking both pacers and spinners from the very start of the innings. Jaiswal threw the kitchen sink at Windies after failing on his debut and came out with unbeaten 84 runs off just 51 balls.
Only Romario Shepherd was able to pick the solitary wicket from the West Indian side and registered the figures of 3-0-35-1. Windies had come into the game with two changes with Shai Hope and Jason Holder returning to the playing XI. The team was forced to sit out Alzarri Joseph due to workload issues, which eventually became the point of difference between the two sides.
With no express pace up top, the two batters dominated the proceedings and brought up an incredibly convincing win in the fourth T20I match of the series.
Earlier in the innings, West Indies showed good promise to capitalise on the good batting conditions at Lauderhill, Florida, but wickets in regular intervals halted their progress. Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer did the majority of the damage against India but could not take the team to a safe total.
Kuldeep and Arshdeep Shine
West Indies had started well against the opening bowlers Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel. Kyle Mayers hit the bowlers with disdain and brought up 17 runs off just 7 balls, but a sharp bouncer from Arshdeep Singh became his undoing. Windies did not back down after losing their first wicket and kept on scoring at an aggressive rate.
Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav brought India back in the game picking two quick wickets of Brandon King (18 off 16) and Nicholas Pooran (1 off 3) in a space of 4 balls. This was the second time in the series that Pooran was dismissed by the leg spinner which also extended to the 4th time in T20I cricket.
Hope and Hetmyer Battle
West Indies kept losing wickets throughout their innings with Kuldeep dominating the proceedings through the majority of his spell. India bowlers were expensive without a shadow of a doubt, but barring Hardik Pandya, everyone else were among wickets.
Shai Hope’s 45 off 29 on return to the T20I format and Shimron Hetmyer’s late surge (61 off 39) allowed West Indies to put something respectable on board. Windies looked torn between trying to score rapid runs due to their long batting line-up and playing sensibly by conserving wickets. Hope and Hetmyer managed to balance the same and came out with two innings of stunning qualities.
Death Bowling
India introduced Mukesh Kumar late in the innings as a death over specialist. Mukesh removed Jason Holder quickly with a yorker and varied his pace brilliantly. After bowling 3 overs, Mukesh gave away just 25 runs and picked a solitary wicket. Arshdeep Singh returned for his final spell in the 18th over. The pacer picked the crucial wicket of Shimron Hetmyer in the second ball of the final over, limiting the damage from the Guyanese batter.
India would be incredibly proud of how they have made a comeback into the series after going 0-2 down after the first two matches. They will play West Indies in the series decider on 13 August at the same venue. If India manage to clinch the decider, they will be the first side to overturn a 0-2 deficit and win a bilateral in a 5-match T20I series.
