Kolkata: Some fearless hitting by Suryakumar Yadav (65, 31b, 1×4, 7×6) and Venkatesh Iyer (35 n o, 19b, 4×4, 2×6) helped India post a competitive 184 for five in the third T20I against the West Indies here Sunday.
The spectators. who were allowed entry in the Eden Gardens for the first time this series had a great time watching the right-left combination of Surya and Venkatesh tearing the opposition apart, after India had been reduced to 93 for four in the 14th over of the innings.
Surya once again dazzled with his brilliant and innovative strokeplay while Venkatesh chipped in with an equally dominating contribution. The two put on 91 runs for the fifth wicket and in the process, placed India on a firm pedestal. The worst to suffer was Dominic Drakes who went for 20 runs in the 19th over and he would definitely like to forget the game in a jiffy.
West Indies captain Kieron Pollard won the toss and opted to bowl first. India made four changes to the side that played in the second T20I with Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Shardul Thakur and pacer Avesh Khan coming into the side. Incidentally, is making his T20I debut for India. The players rested were Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant.
The West Indies, too, made four changes to their line-up, bringing back Hayden Walsh, Fabian Allen, Dominic Drakes and Shai Hope.
India however, started poorly with Gaikwad being caught at third man off the bowling of Jason Holder (1/29). In fact among the opposition bowlers Holder and Roston Chase (1/23) were the most impressive. However, they did not bowl to Surya and Venkatesh. The worst sufferer was Romario Shepherd. Even though he got the wicket of Surya in the last ball of the innings, he went for 50 runs in his four overs with his last over costing 20.
Surya and Venkatesh were so ruthless in their attack that they took 86 runs off the West Indies bowling in the last five overs with the former hitting Shepherd for three sixes in the last over of the innings. Yes, they slogged at times, but then there were the trademark straight drives, the flicks through mid-wicket and the dabs down the ground. At one point of time, the West Indies bowlers seemed all lost and forlorn.
Skipper Rohit Sharma (7) demoted himself down the order to No.4 to accommodate Gaikwad, but could not get going at his favourite Eden Gardens. Ishan Kishan (34, 31b, 5×4) was much better than the first two games, but even then was not his fluent self. Shreyas Iyer (15, 16b, 4×4) looked poised for a big score but then fell trying to hit leg-spinner Hayden Walsh (1/30) out of the park. He got a top edge and was safely caught by Holder at the long-off fence.
Then came the blitzkrieg by Suryakumar and Venkatesh that seemed to have completely blown away the West Indies
Brief scores: India 184 for 5 (Suryakumar Yadav 65, Venkatesh Iyer 35 n o, Ishan Kishan 31, Roston Chase 1/23, Jason Holder 1/29). West Indies to bat.