Suryakumar, Pandya and Ashwin help India go 2-1 up

Suryakumar Yadav's entertaining 76 followed a disciplined performance in the middle overs with the ball from India as they took a 2-1 series lead against the West Indies with a seven wicket win in the third T20I at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on Tuesday (August 3). Hardik Pandya and R Ashwin were the key reasons for India being able to keep West Indies to 164 after they opted to bowl. But it was still was a challenging total on a slightly sluggish surface. Rohit Sharma retired hurt with a back spasm early in the innings but Suryakumar ensured the skipper's absence was not felt, striking 8 fours and 4 sixes in his 44 ball stay to help India win by seven wickets with an over to spare.

Two left-arm seamers - did it help West Indies?

Fresh off Obed McCoy's six-wicket haul, West Indies decided to trouble India with more left-arm pace, bringing in Dominic Drakes in place of Odean Smith. But the Indian batters were up to the task this time, especially Suryakumar, who struck two fours off McCoy in the first over, played a cheeky boundary in McCoy's second and then hit two fours off Drakes in the fifth over. Rohit Sharma, after hitting a six and a four off Alzarri Joseph, retired hurt walking off holding his back. but Suryakumar's attacking cricket, which included a six over thirdman off Joseph, powered India's chase. Although Shreyas Iyer was watchful at the other end, India managed to score 56 in the powerplay.

Suryakumar powers India's chase

It was the period after the powerplay that West Indies batters were really tested, with India sneaking in a string of quiet overs. With Akeal Hosein starting with a three-run over soon after the powerplay, West Indies were hoping to do what India did to them. But Suryakumar did not bog down. He got under a low full toss from Holder to score a four over mid-on, followed by a six that just cleared deep midwicket, with Brandon King a few yards in from the boundary. Suryakumar raced to a 26-ball fifty with a six over square leg off Hosein, and then struck a six and a four off Joseph. Shreyas fell to Hosein soon after India crossed 100, but Pant started dealing in boundaries, pulling McCoy for a four and clearing the long-on fence in a Hosein over as the equation came down to 35 off the last six overs.

West Indies strike but India over the line comfortably

Suryakumar, who played a scoop off Drakes for a four, fell off the next ball attempting a fancy sweep. Hardik Pandya, who tried to pull a slower, short delivery from Jason Holder, edged the ball to the 'keeper. But the rate at which Suryakumar had scored ensured that India did not have a lot to do in the end. Deepak Hooda executed an attractive cover drive off Holder for a four while Pant finished it off with a boundary over midwicket off McCoy in the 19th over.

WI pick up pace after slow start

Only one came off the opening over, bowled by Hooda - who replaced a rested Ravindra Jadeja - while Bhuvneshwar Kumar gave away six off the second over despite being hit for a four by Brandon King, who put away a short delivery. Kyle Mayers struggled to get off the mark before getting his first runs off the sixth delivery he faced, by muscling away an Avesh Khan delivery for a four and following it up with a six over midwicket in a 15-run over. Mayers continued to be the aggressor as he timed a Bhuvneshwar delivery through cover and showed some deftness in beating short third - for two fours - and also struck a six over midwicket off Hardik Pandya. Meanwhile, King slowed down as a touch as West Indies managed 45 in the first six overs.

Pandya, Ashwin keep WI in check despite Mayers fifty

R Ashwin's first over was an expensive one as he went for 11, with Mayers and King scoring a boundary apiece. But the opening stand, worth 57, came to an end when King failed to spot a slower ball from Pandya and got an inside edge onto his stumps. Pandya and Ashwin bowled well in tandem, with only 5, 2 and 2 coming in overs 7-10. West Indies went 23 deliveries without a boundary, with Pooran nearly handing a catch to Rohit at slip off Ashwin. He ended the boundary rut by reverse-sweeping the offspinner while Mayers got an edge off Pandya which went to the boundary. He got to his second T20I fifty, off 38 balls, with a six off Ashwin. But the run-rate was just under 6.5 as Pandya completed his four-over spell with figures of 1-19 while Ashwin finished with 0-26.

West Indies wait, watch and target

On the same pitch where both the teams had played less than 24 hours back, bowling it slow or short of a length helped the bowlers keep the batters in check. But Avesh's pace was to West Indies' liking as he went for 15 after being brought back into the attack, with Mayers striking three fours. Pooran hit a six off Bhuvneshwar en route a half-century stand but fell soon after as a short ball resulted in his dismissal. But Arshdeep Singh erred with his line and length on a couple of occasions and ended up conceding 14. Bhuvneshwar, hit for a six by Mayers, responded with a slow and slightly short ball to end Mayers' stay. Arshdeep came back well after his previous over, giving away only five runs, although he put down a return catch to give Shimron Hetmyer a reprieve. But Avesh's struggle continued as he bowled right in the hitting arc of Hetmyer, who cleared the fence twice in a 17-run penultimate over. Powell struck two fours off Arshdeep in the final over but the left-arm seamer kept it tight otherwise, bagging the wicket of Powell while Hetmyer was run out.

Brief scores: West Indies 164/5 in 20 overs (Kyle Mayers 73, Rovman Powell 23; Bhuvneshwar Kumar 2-35) lost to India 165/3 in 19 overs (Suryakumar Yadav 76, Rishabh Pant 33*; Akeal Hosein 1-28) by 7 wickets.