NEW DELHI: India captain Shreyas Iyer praised his bowlers for their confident approach and clear plans after the team defeated the West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium on Sunday. The victory gave India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.India successfully defended a target of 224, restricting the West Indies to 209/7. Arshdeep Singh took three wickets, while Naman Dhir picked up two scalps to help India stop the visitors from completing another successful chase.
Iyer impressed with bowlers’ approach
Iyer said the bowlers knew what they wanted to do and backed themselves to execute their plans under pressure.“It was wonderful because the bowlers were pretty confident with what they wanted to execute. The clarity was much more visible. They were decisive in their execution and when I was passing the ball to them, each and every bowler was up for the challenge and that’s what you want,” Iyer said during the post-match presentation.Arshdeep played a key role in the defence, finishing with figures of 3/44. He dismissed in-form opener Shai Hope early and later removed Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford in the 18th over to put India firmly in control.Dhir also made an important contribution with two wickets, including the dismissal of Kamil Pooran, who had threatened to turn the game around with an aggressive innings.
Iyer praises Abhishek and Kishan
India’s strong start with the bat came from Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan. Abhishek smashed 69 off 30 balls, while Kishan scored 37 off just 18 deliveries.Iyer praised both batters for giving India momentum at the top of the order. He also highlighted Prince Yadav’s contribution towards the end of the innings.“Honestly, that was a phenomenal start. Abhishek doing what he does in the powerplay and Kishan coming in. He’s been great in the last few months. Even Prince (Yadav) playing the cameo in the end, those were crucial runs.“West Indies, you can never take them lightly. So, we had to make sure we never got complacent. These are high-scoring grounds but it’s important to stick to our process and follow our routines and make sure we stay offensive,” Iyer said.
Hetmyer and Pooran threaten India’s defence
The West Indies began their chase with an early setback when Arshdeep bowled Shai Hope for one. However, Shimron Hetmyer counterattacked and made the most of a dropped catch by Abhishek Sharma at short third man.Hetmyer struck boundaries against the Indian bowlers and scored 43 before being bowled by a slower delivery from Dhir.Rovman Powell fell for five after attempting a big shot against Axar Patel. Pooran then attacked Dhir, hitting three sixes in an attempt to bring the West Indies back into the contest.However, Dhir dismissed Pooran for 42 when the batter attempted another pick-up shot but failed to get enough elevation.
Arshdeep seals India’s victory
Sherfane Rutherford and Quention Sampson tried to rebuild the innings with some aggressive batting. Sampson, however, was caught at long-off off Nitish Kumar Reddy.Arshdeep then struck twice in four balls during the 18th over, dismissing Keemo Paul and Rutherford to leave the West Indies with too much to do.Shamar Springer provided some late excitement with an unbeaten 35 off just 11 balls, but his effort was not enough to take the visitors over the line. The West Indies finished on 209/7, falling 14 runs short.The result also marked the first victory for a team batting first in the white-ball series so far. India had looked set for a bigger total after Abhishek’s explosive innings, but a series of soft dismissals in the second half of their innings had given the West Indies hope.India’s bowlers made sure that the late batting collapse did not cost the team the match, helping the hosts move ahead in the T20I series.
