Recent Match Report - India vs West Indies 4th T20I 2022

India maintained their unbeaten series record against West Indies since 2016 by taking an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-T20I series. Their attacking style of batting helped them post 191 even though they tapered off in the second half of their innings, and their bowlers used cutters well to stifle West Indies' batting.

This was India's highest T20I total when none of their batters have scored a fifty. Only one of their seven batters failed to get to double figures, which was just as well because they had Axar Patel batting at No. 7, and he gave India the finishing kick with an unbeaten 20 off eight balls after a middle-overs slowdown.

India's over-stated problems against left-arm seam took a back seat as Obed McCoy returned the most expensive analysis - 2 for 66, including six sixes off his bowling - for a West Indies bowler two matches after he returned the best figures by a West Indies bowler. Avesh Khan experienced a turnaround in the opposite direction with two wickets in the powerplay for just nine runs in two overs, following which West Indies never really recovered even though Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell threatened briefly.

Rohit, Suryakumar hit the ground running
Either the India openers quickly surmised that they needed to score their runs while the ball was new or they felt this pitch needed a huge score, because they didn't hold back at all. Rohit Sharma was the first aggressor, hitting a couple of boundaries in the first two overs, before he and Suryakumar Yadav welcomed McCoy mercilessly. Rohit eased him for sixes over long-on and long-off, and Suryakumar displayed great flair, whipping and uppercutting him for a six and a four. India's fifty came up in the fifth over.

Hosein, Joseph pull things back
Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph bowled the two tough final overs of the powerplay, bringing West Indies back into the contest. Hosein pulled back his length after being slogged for a six to bowl Rohit, and Joseph trapped Suryakumar lbw as he tried to open up the leg side once too often.

Once the field spread, West Indies began to bowl cutters into the pitch and the boundaries dried up. Given the conditions, Rishabh Pant, batting at No. 4, played a superb hand of 44 off 31 in the most difficult phase of the innings. At the other end, Deepak Hooda managed 21 off 19 balls, while Sanju Samson scored 30 off 23. And once West Indies got Dinesh Karthik for just 6, they would have hoped to restrict India considerably.

Axar gives India the big finish
A six over long-off, another over long-on - both off McCoy in the 19th over - and then a four off the last ball of the innings, and Axar, playing his first match of the series, brought India 27 runs in the final two overs after the previous three had produced just 18.

Avesh owns the powerplay
Going for over 14 an over in the series, and playing possibly only because Harshal Patel is injured, it is fair to assume Avesh was under the scanner in this match. He started after Bhuvneshwar Kumar had been taken for 14 in the first over, and used the legcutter well to get rid of Brandon King with a return catch, and the promoted Devon Thomas off a skier to mid-off. West Indies now needed a special innings from someone in the middle order.

The Pooran and Powell threat
Rohit made the surprising call of calling the left-arm spinner Axar on to bowl the fifth over, a difficult over to bowl, with two left-hand batters in the middle. Pooran was ruthless, hitting three sixes and a four, but the over ended in anti-climax with a run-out as Kyle Mayers sent him back after setting off for a quick single.

This was not the end of Axar's luck for the day. In his third over - the ninth of the innings - Powell took a shine to him, hitting him for two sixes down the ground, but he chipped the easiest of the deliveries, a full-toss, straight down the throat of long-on. West Indies were now 82 for 5 in nine overs.

India closed out the game efficiently, the highlight being Arshdeep Singh bowling in the middle overs for the first time in T20Is and taking out the threatening Jason Holder to make sure there was no way back for West Indies.

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-india-vs-west-indies-4th-t20i-2022/?feed_id=7535&_unique_id=62eedada1f798

Recent Match Report - India vs West Indies 1st T20I 2022

India 190 for 6 (Rohit 64, Karthik 41*, Joseph 2-46) beat West Indies 122 for 8 (Brooks 20, Ashwin 2-22, Arshdeep 2-24, Bishnoi 2-26) by 68 runs

In the first international game at Brian Lara Stadium, India's move to go in with three spinners - as opposed to West Indies' one - reaped rich dividends as Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin and Ravi Bishnoi combined to pick five of the eight wickets to fall, helping them to a 68-run win in the first T20I of the five match series.

In T20s before Friday at this ground, spinners had an economy rate of 6.31, which is the fourth-lowest among all the venues in West Indies. They averaged 20.91 - again the fourth-lowest at any Caribbean venue where spinners have bowled in more than ten innings.

India managed to post a tall 190 for 6 on a seemingly slowish surface, thanks to captain Rohit Sharma's half century and Dinesh Karthik's perfect finishing act of an unbeaten 41 off just 19 balls before the West Indies' batting was entangled in the web of spin.

Another partner for Rohit

After being put to bat, Rohit walked out with a new partner, Suryakumar Yadav, who was the seventh opener for India in T20Is this year. Suryakumar got going quickly with a four off Obed McCoy in the first over and then another off Jason Holder in the next. His trademark wristily-flick for six over fine leg also made an appearance - debutant Alzarri Joseph bearing the ignominy.

However Akeal Hosein's introduction had Suryakumar stalling. He was dropped off the first ball from the spinner before a top edge on the very next ball saw it evade the bowler running back. However, Hosein had the last laugh in the next over after Suryakumar's attempted whip resulted in a thick leading edge to short third.

Change in pace leads to change of momentum

India had raced to 44 inside five overs but Suryakumar's wicket slowed down the proceedings. Despite finding a couple of boundaries early on, Rohit struggled to get the ball away. With the odd ball gripping the surface, Hosein and McCoy used that to their advantage with the latter dismissing Shreyas Iyer for a four-ball duck.

While Rohit got his eye in, Rishabh Pant threw his hands around to get a couple of fours. Their partnership of 43 off just 25 balls helped Rohit free himself up. But then India lost Pant and Hardik Pandya - who ramped a Joseph short ball straight to deep third for his maiden T20I wicket - in quick succession to find themselves at 102 for 4 with over eight overs left.

Dinesh Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin added an unbeaten 52-run stand to take India to 190•Associated Press

The perfect finish

In the interim Rohit got to his 27th half-century in T20Is off 35 balls. Just when he started accelerating, he slapped Holder straight to sweeper cover. At 131 for 5 in 15 overs on a track slowing down, India looked on course to finish around the 170-run mark.

But Karthik once again aced in his designated finisher's role to help India get close to 200. He used the crease well to put the bowlers off their lines and lengths. In the company of Ashwin, he took a toll on the erring Holder and McCoy to help India amass 36 off the last two overs.

Spin to win

In their pursuit of 191, Kyle Mayers got West Indies off to a rapid start, helping them score 11 off Bhuvneshwar Kumar's first over and as many in the first three balls of Arshdeep Singh's over. However, Arshdeep managed to deceive Mayers with an off-pace short ball to crash-land the chase.

Holder, sent in at No. 3 couldn't see off Ravindra Jadeja's spin while Ashwin managed to see the back of the left-handers in Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer. Ravi Bishnoi then dismissed Rovman Powell and Odean Smith in successive overs to pretty much seal the game.

S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-india-vs-west-indies-1st-t20i-2022/?feed_id=4117&_unique_id=62e4ab3d409fa

Recent Match Report - India vs West Indies 3rd ODI 2022

India 225 for 3 (Gill 98*, Dhawan 58, Iyer 44, Walsh 2-57) beat West Indies 137 (Pooran 42, King 42, Chahal 4-17) by 119 runs via DLS method

The first two matches of the series were tight contests where both teams remained in contention until the final ball was bowled. But India had it much easier during the third ODI in Port-of-Spain, as the visitors completed a 3-0 sweep of West Indies following contributions from Shubman Gill, who hit a career-best 98 not out, Shikhar Dhawan, who got 58, and Shreyas Iyer, who contributed a quickfire 44. All their bowlers chipped in too, as West Indies fell away quickly during the chase.

The hosts were asked to chase a DLS-revised target of 257 in 35 overs after India posted 225 in 36, their innings ending prematurely after a two-and-a-half-hour rain delay had already trimmed it down to 40 overs.

Mohammed Siraj put West Indies on the back foot in the second over of the chase, when he cleaned Kyle Mayers up with a good length delivery before trapping Shamarh Brooks in front with one that angled in. West Indies were 0 for 2 at that stage, with nine deliveries gone.

Brandon King and Shai Hope briefly brought them back on track with a 47-run stand before Yuzvendra Chahal had Hope stumped for 22. King was then joined by Nicholas Pooran in another partnership that gave West Indies hope, before Axar Patel's arm ball in the 14th over bowled King for 42.

But immediately after, Pooran fired a six and four off Deepak Hooda, keeping his side afloat as the required rate hovered around eight an over. However, Keacy Carty's struggle to get going at the other end seemed to put pressure back on Pooran; when Carty finally decided to try something different, he skipped down to Shardul Thakur in the 19th over only to bottom-edge on to his stumps for 5 off 17 balls.

By then, West Indies needed nearly 10 an over, and although Pooran hit two more fours off Axar, he fell for 42 in the 22nd over to all but end the game, which had been set up by India's opening batters Gill and Dhawan.

In their third successful partnership in a row - following stands of 119 and 48 and now 113 - the right-left pair started sedately in what was an innings of two halves from India: the first 24 overs produced 115 runs; the next 12 fetched 110.

Gill missed out on what would have been his maiden ODI hundred, as a second rain interruption meant India's innings was announced closed with a scheduled four overs left at that stage. When play resumed after the first rain delay, India had 16 overs remaining, as Gill and Iyer switched gears to accelerate the innings.

Both batters threw everything at the bowling after having to adjust for the loss of overs: they came down the pitch to the spinners, tried the reverse sweep, played aerial shots while pulling and driving, and kept lofting over the in-field.

Gill and Iyer added 86 for the second wicket in less than ten overs, making up for the sedate beginning after Dhawan opted to bat on winning the toss. Dhawan was quiet to start the innings, his 58 coming off 74 balls on a slow pitch where he did try attacking, but often failed to time and place the ball.

Dhawan hit seven fours, while Gill also hit as many along with two sixes. The first two overs after the rain break saw 31 runs being plundered - including four fours and two sixes - as Gill and Iyer pulled, cut and drove for fun. Their partnership had only just started before rain broke through.

But Hayden Walsh Jr's second ball after the break was swung for six over deep square leg by Iyer, signalling India's intent early, as quick runs were the need of the hour. The next ball was bisected for four between point and short third, before Gill skipped down off the final delivery and swung over the bowler's head for six.

West Indies brought some pace from the other end, only for Iyer to hit one four off Jayden Seales, and Gill to slam consecutive fours - the first of which was supreme timing to place the ball past mid-off - as India raced along.

Both batters continued finding the boundary when the hosts switched to Jason Holder and Akeal Hosein, before Iyer swatted the latter to long-on for 44 off 34 balls. But Gill kept ticking the scoreboard at the other end, as Suryakumar Yadav joined him in pursuit of rapid runs.

Suryakumar fell for 8 after carving one four behind point just two overs before play came to a halt, with Gill having skipped from 51 off 65 balls at one stage, to an unbeaten, run-a-ball 98. He might rue missing out on a century, as he got only 13 off his last 14 balls - perhaps just one more ball would have been enough to get to triple figures. In the end, though, it didn't make too much difference to India's fortunes.

Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-india-vs-west-indies-3rd-odi-2022/?feed_id=3150&_unique_id=62e20523844a4

Recent Match Report - India vs West Indies 1st ODI 2022

50 overs India 308 for 7 (Dhawan 97, Gill 64, Iyer 54, Motie 2-54, Joseph 2-61) vs West Indies

Overcast conditions owing to rain early in the morning were meant to make batting difficult. West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran opted to bowl first at the toss, Shikhar Dhawan, his India counterpart, said he would have liked to chase too.

However, the sun emerged out of the clouds in the first ten overs, and shone bright - literally as well as figuratively - on India's batting. Dhawan and his opening partner Shubman Gill feasted on some ill-disciplined new-ball bowling from West Indies to add 119 for the first wicket.

Dhawan, Gill, and one-drop Shreyas Iyer all hit half-centuries as India looked on course for a score around 350. However, with the ball holding on the surface towards the end of the innings, West Indies varied their lengths and pace to restrict India to 308 for 7, with the visitors losing five wickets for only 83 runs in the last 15 overs.

Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales gave away as many as six boundaries in the first six overs, even though they bowled a combined 24 dot balls. At the end of the first powerplay of ten overs, India had raced to 73 without loss, with Dhawan and Gill hitting 11 fours and two sixes while also facing 38 dots.

Gill - chosen ahead of Ishan Kishan and Ruturaj Gaikwad - looked particularly fluent in his strokeplay, driving and flicking at will. He got off the mark with a pristinely-timed cover drive off Seales before executing a perfect back-foot punch in the next over off Joseph. He cashed in on any width provided by the seamers and welcomed left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie with beautifully timed six over mid-on, and got to his maiden ODI fifty off just 36 balls.

Dhawan, who had returns of 31*, 9 and 1 in the recent ODI series against England, was happy to leave deliveries outside off to get his eye in before freeing his arms to collect boundaries and make up for the dots. Though he played second fiddle to Gill, Dhawan ensured the good start didn't go to waste, bringing up his 36th fifty in the format.

Just when it looked like West Indies would struggle to get a breakthrough, Gill threw away a chance to get to triple figures. He tucked a Joseph delivery towards midwicket and set off on a jog, only to be run out by a direct hit from an alert Pooran at square leg.

Iyer took his time to get going, with Motie mixing up his pace to go with Joseph's short-ball attack from the other end. The five overs after Gill's wicket brought just 17 runs, that phase ending with Iyer on 3 off 15 balls. Sensing a chance to apply the squeeze, Pooran brought Akeal Hosein on and bowled him in tandem with Motie. Both spinners managed to find enough from the surface to keep even a set Dhawan quiet.

But the Indian captain broke the shackles by first slog sweeping Motie for a six over deep square leg and hitting Pooran's part-time offspin for a maximum over long-on an over later. Iyer then tore into Pooran, hitting a four and a six off successive deliveries, before Dhawan deposited Motie over midwicket again.

However, an acrobatic catch by Shamarh Brooks at backward point ended Dhawan's innings on 97 off the very next ball. An over later, Iyer fell after his fifty - thanks to a full-stretch leap from Pooran at cover - and the brakes began to be applied on India's innings.

With Suryakumar Yadav chopping Hosein on to his stumps, and Sanju Samon and Deepak Hooda struggling to get the ball away, India were in danger of being restricted to under 300. But Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur managed to find the boundary towards the end of the innings - 36 came from the last three overs - to help India get past 300.

Speaking to the host broadcaster during the break, Gill suggested that spinners could be key for India, with the pitch having started to grip in the second half of their innings. West Indies, who have been bowled out in all but five of their ODI innings this year, will have their task cut out.

S Sudarshanan is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo

Source https://www.globalcourant.com/recent-match-report-india-vs-west-indies-1st-odi-2022/?feed_id=307&_unique_id=62daf40c7676f