India suffers first defeat of the tour as the Windies seal a thriller

A nerve-wracking encounter hit the yard at the Warner Park last night as a delayed contest between India and West Indies would eventually end in the hosts’ favour, helping them to get off the mark finally after a prolonged 4 matches that saw the Caribbean coming close on a couple of occasions but eventually missing out the finish line by whiskers.

Pooran won the toss and put India into bat. On a surprising note, the Indian captain would depart for a golden duck, failing to fathom a sudden bounce produced by the star of the night, Obed McCoy. India was not willing to hold back their punches as the fall of Sharma did very little to deter their spirits. Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer took on the mighty fine Caribbean bowlers for a brief period before McCoy would deal the second whammy of the night removing Yadav.

Rishabh Pant would join the party and would blaze a blitzkrieg alongside a supportive Shreyas Iyer but it won’t be a long haul for the visitors as both would fall in quick succession, leaving India teetering at 61 for 4. Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja, two of India’s highest-scorers on an ailing night would eventually steer the ship to safety for a while only for the Caribbean to make quick work of the remainder of the tail, skittling India out for 138.

West Indies was off to a fiery start as Brandon King got them the much-needed start while Kyle Mayers dropped anchor at the other end for a while, helping the Windies to a steady 46. Nicholas Pooran would be kept reticent for a rare off-day as Ravichandran Ashwin would produce the million-dollar mishit.

Shimron Hetmyer would fall for cheap too, despite getting an early life after review showed that the cherry landed an inch short of a diving Rishabh Pant. Rovman Powell would try and chime in with a steady stand but India would manage to deal a couple of telling blows on the bounce as the former and Brandon King would depart in quick succession to amp up the decibels of thrill.

Despite the game being perfectly poised for a thrilling finish, Avesh Khan would completely bungle up affairs at the very onset of the final over, helping West Indies to walk away with the bragging rights. Rohit Sharma would show his support for Avesh Khan at the end of the contest, saying that it was just one match and there is so much to learn for the youngster.