As rain and wet outfield denied India a chance to level the Twenty20 global series against West Indies, captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni hinted that he wanted to carry on with the game considering he had played under “worst” of the conditions and there was “no Shoaib Akhtar” in the opposition team.
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After a last ball thriller at Fort Lauderdale, both India and West Indies will try to give it their all in the 2nd and final T20I at the same venue today.
WEST INDIES:J Charles b Shami 79E Lewis c Ashwin b Jadeja 100A Russell lbw b Jadeja 22K Pollard b Bumrah 22C Brathwaite run out 14 D Bravo not out 1L Simmons b Bumrah 0M Samuels not out 1EXTRAS: (w4, nb2) 6 TOTAL: (6 wickets; 20 overs) 245FOW: 1-126, 2-204, 3-205, 4-236, 5-244, 6-244. I always want to get that first win as captain, I know it was fantastic and I think that was one of the better T20 games I have ever been a part of, and it was a fantastic spectacle. When it mattered, Samuels caught Dhoni as West Indies captured famous win.
The Indian bowlers had no answer to the onslaught launched by the West Indians with Charles being the more aggressive of the two.
The 24-year-old also shared an 89-run partnership with opener Rohit Sharma (62) besides sharing a 107-run stand with skipper Dhoni (43).
Test captain Virat Kohli (16 from 9 balls) came out and hit two fours off Badree immediately but he was not to be the saviour of the Indian team this time as he fell in the fifth over.
Charles showed his brilliance with the willow as he smashed 33-ball 79.
West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo, left, and MS Dhoni, right, talk during a rain delay at the second Twenty20 global cricket match, Sunday.
Currently, West Indies are 92 for the loss of five wickets in 12 overs, with Andre Fletcher on two, and Andre Russell coming in.
The southpaw mauled seamer Stuart Binny for five consecutive sixes in the 11th over to propel the Caribbean side to the 150-run mark, while reaching the three-figure mark himself of 47 balls with a single from Jadeja before being dismissed in the same over.
Lewis has likened his style to Chris Gayle, who he was replacing, and made good on such talk as he crashed nine sixes to help West Indies to their record T20 score of 245 for six.
Jadeja accounted for Andre Russell (22 of 12 balls) winning an LBW shout and then dismissed risky Lewis, with Ashwin taking an excellent catch running backwards from cover. For those who missed it, fear not, India and West Indies will do it all again on Sunday.
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Dhoni, who was batting at the crease during the final six balls, said that although he had guessed the last delivery from Bravo correct, he failed to execute it properly.
