Abhishek Sharmas Storm Leads India to Victory Over West Indies in Indore T20 Match
India defeated West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20 match, taking a 2-1 lead in the series at Holkar Stadium in Indore.
Indore, October 11 (Daily Kiran) : India secured a thrilling 14-run victory against West Indies in the third T20 match held at Holkar Stadium in Indore. This win gives the host nation a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Batting first after losing the toss, India posted a total of 223 runs, collapsing at the last ball of their innings. The team lost their first wicket early, with Sanju Samson departing for just 3 runs at a score of 7. However, Ishan Kishan and Abhishek Sharma formed a formidable partnership, scoring 108 runs for the second wicket off just 40 balls, propelling the score to 115.
Ishan Kishan made a quick 37 runs off 18 balls, including seven boundaries, before the wickets began to tumble. Abhishek Sharma was the standout performer, smashing 69 runs off 30 balls, featuring five sixes and six fours. Despite losing five wickets for 135 runs, the middle order managed to recover. Tilak Varma contributed with a solid 28 runs, while Nitish Reddy added 21. Axar Patel chipped in with 20 runs, helping India reach a competitive total. For West Indies, Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph, and Shamar Springer each took two wickets, while Keemo Paul and Gudakesh Motie claimed one wicket apiece.
In response, West Indies struggled to keep up and finished their innings at 209 for 7. The visitors also lost their first wicket early, with captain Shai Hope scoring just 5 runs. Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard then stabilized the innings with a partnership of 60 runs for the second wicket off 31 balls. Pollard scored 42 runs from 27 balls, while Hetmyer made 43 runs from 26 balls, hitting eight boundaries.
Despite a valiant effort, West Indies fell short, losing their fourth wicket at 105 runs. Sherfane Rutherford (32) and Quentin Sampson (21) added 46 runs for the fifth wicket, but it wasn’t enough. Roston Chase and Shamar Springer attempted a late surge with an unbeaten partnership of 35 runs for the eighth wicket but could not secure the win.
For India, Arshdeep Singh was the standout bowler, taking 3 wickets for 44 runs, while Naman Dhir picked up 2 wickets. Axar Patel and Nitish Reddy also contributed with one wicket each.
India previously won the ODI series 2-1 and started the T20 series strong with an 8-wicket victory in the first match. However, West Indies bounced back to win the second match by 6 wickets. The remaining two matches of the series are scheduled to take place on October 14 and 17 in Hyderabad and Bengaluru, respectively.
