WI VS IND - 5th T20I, India tour of West Indies, 2023

India have tasted a lot of success in bilateral series' in this format but the Windies have humbled them. Yes, India did experiment but that shouldn't be a worthy excuse. The arrival of Jaiswal and Tilak at the big stage would have delighted a lot of hearts. Kuldeep's performance in the series was also pretty good. But today is about the West Indies. They have had to suffer a lot of ignominy very recently. They won't be participating in the 2023 50 overs WC. But the next T20I WC would be in the Island nation and so far it seems this is one team which will entertain for sure. But entertainment has to combine with results like it has done in the 2012 and 2016 editions. They have Sammy helming the coaching affairs as well. Good signs indeed for times to come. And there are enough signs we should escape as well. This is Kumar Abhisekh Das signing off on behalf of Anurag and Praveen.

"It is India’s first bilateral series defeat since they went down by 2-1 on the Sri Lanka tour in 2021. Between then and the start of this tour, they had won 11 of the 12 two-team series, the only exception being the 2-2 draw against SA last year" informs statsman Roshan Gede

Highest individual scores in a successful T20I chase against India:
125* - Evin Lewis (WI), Kingston, 2017
113* - Glenn Maxwell (AUS), Bengaluru, 2019
86* - Alex Hales (ENG), Adelaide, 2022
85* - Brandon King (WI), Lauderhill, 2023
83* - Jos Buttler (ENG), Ahmedabad, 2021

Results for India in five-match T20I bilateral series:
Won 5-0 vs NZ, 2020 (away)
Won 3-2 vs ENG, 2021 (home)
Drew 2-2 vs SA, 2022 (home)
Won 4-1 vs WI, 2022 (away)
Lost 2-3 vs WI, 2023 (away)

Most runs in a T20I series against India:
184 - Nicholas Pooran, WI tour of India 2022
178 - Colin Munro, IND tour of NZ 2020
176 - Nicholas Pooran, IND tour of WI & USA, 2023
173 - Brandon King, IND tour of WI & USA, 2023
172 - Jos Buttler, ENG tour of IND, 2021

Rovman Powell: It is difficult to put words. Even adjectives are difficult to be put here. There was a lot at stake. We sat down and had a meeting last evening. The people in caribbean were longing for something nice. Credit to the coaching side. We could have easily panicked after the loss. Our plans were good. I am very big on individual performances. If one can perform, the team will benefit. Nicholas Pooran is a big player for us, we asked him to come through for us in at least three of the five games and he did. Nobody can come good in every game so we asked him to try and stand up in three games. Credit to the bowling unit that they controlled this powerful batting line up from India. A lot of credit has to go to the fans. When the chips were down, they have supported us. It keeps us motivated, to see the fans supporting us, not only physically but also on social media. Thanks to everyone for supporting us.

Hardik Pandya: We lost the momentum when I came in and couldn't capitalize on the situation. I believe we gonna challenge ourselves. We try to get better. In hindsight, it is fine. We don't need to explain much. I know how the boys are within the group. We have enough time to figure out. Losing is good at times. On the positive side, we have done a lot of learnings. The boys showed character. Credit to them. They kept coming and tried something new. It is part of the process. It is what I feel at that moment. If I see a situation, I generally prefer something that comes to mind. No rocket science, just my gut feel. Every youngster who is coming in, is showing character. I can't be more happy when I see a youngster comes in and puts his hand up. A big thank you to everyone. The T20 World Cup would be here. There would be bigger numbers then.

Nicholas Pooran is the Player of the series. He has to catch a flight and won't be available for a chat. So much cricket I tell you!

Romario Shepherd, Player of the Match: Makes me feel happy. We ended up on the winning side. Thanks to Pooran and team. From the ODIs to now, I have been bowling well. The best so far I feel. Especially, the plan was to take wickets. Means a lot to us. We have been through hard times in the last few months.

But kudos to the Windies team. They didn't have much going for them in the Tests or the ODIs. But the shortest format did help them a little. They have these T20 mercenaries and they did come to the party. Pooran had a good series. Joseph bowled well in a couple of games and so did Akeal Hosein. Romario picked up wickets and Powell also scored some vital runs. And King after getting off to starts in previous games managed to bat through today. Sammy wouldn't quite feel baptism by fire just yet...

One can argue, India were without a few regular names. But still one would have backed India to win the series but after being 0-2 down, the Indian squad did show some stomach for a fight. They were chasing history as no team had come back from 0-2 margin to win a 5 game series. And it wasn't to be also. But India messed up their plans again. Did they throw away the advantage of winning the toss? The wicket was sluggish and that didn't help the openers. The rain during the second innings also helped the wicket to easy out a little. Secondly. Axar was not used at all. Yes, Pooran's entry delayed his arrival into the delivery stride but Pandya had to take a gamble but didn't.

15:02 Local Time, 19:02 GMT, 00:32 IST: India handed a shellacking yesterday. Windies have returned the favour today. King and Pooran show almost killed off the chase. And then Hope came in to provide the finishing touches. King though stayed till the end and scored a wonderful 85. He took on Chahal and belted him for four sixes. He played out Kuldeep sensibly and that meant India were always under the hammer after scoring only 165. India would be very disappointed with their defence. Yes, they should have scored more. But apart from Kuldeep none looked like picking up a wicket. Pooran's promotion to number 3 just forced Hardik to alter his plans and none of them worked as the southpaw was off to a flier. India were behind the 8-ball throughout the game. Earlier, on the back of a classy SKY knock India huffed and puffed to 165. It never looked enough and wasn't as well at the end of the day.

Jaiswal to Shai Hope, SIX, Windies take the series 3-2! First time they have beaten India in a 5-match T20I series. Was a tossed up delivery, Shai Hope slammed it down the ground. Packed a lot of power into the shot

Jaiswal to Brandon King, 1 run, goes back and punches that down to long-off for a single. Scores are level

Jaiswal to Brandon King, no run, quicker one, pushed back to the bowler

Jaiswal to Shai Hope, 1 run, flatter one, from the front of the hand, tucked down to deep mid for a single. Two needed now

Jaiswal to Shai Hope, 2 runs, tossed up delivery, at the sticks, Shai Hope looks to slog sweep it and gets an inside edge past the sticks for a couple of runs

Jaiswal to Brandon King, 1 run, and drilled down to long-on for a single as Jaiswal started an over

Yashasvi Jaiswal, right-arm leg break, comes into the attack

Tilak Varma to Brandon King, 1 run, punches it back at the bowler who dives to his right but fails to get there. Single for Brandon King and Windies are a shot away from winning this