IND VS WI - 3rd T20I, West Indies tour of India, 2019

India vs West Indies

India won by 67 runs

WI -173/8 (19.6)

IND -240/3 (19.6)

PLAYER OF THE MATCH : KL Rahul

Batter

R
B
4s
6s
SR
13
7
1
1
185.71
4
4
1
0
100

Bowler

O
M
R
W
ECO
4
0
41
2
10.25

Virat Kohli walks up and collects the trophy. As usual, he hands to over to the youngsters in the team - Shivam Dube and Sanju Samson - allowing them to take the limelight. The entire team stand in front of the 'Champions' board as they pose for the team photograph. Yet another trophy in the never-ending cabinet. Consecutive T20 series losses for West Indies, something which won't augur well for them especially with the World Cup coming up next year. Mind you, they are the defending champions as well. After a thumping win in Thiruvananthapuram, they would've come into this contest with a lot of confidence but were simply blown away by the masterclass that was put on by the trioka of Rohit, Rahul and Kohli. They will look to take some meaningful points from this series as they look ahead. Time for ODIs next with the first game slated to be played in Chennai on December 15. We look forward for your company. Time to wind up the coverage today then. For more cricketing action, keep following Cricbuzz. Goodnight and goodbye!

Kohli --> Indian captain and Man of the Series: We had spoken a lot (about batting first and winning). It was about going out there and executing. I was in the zone and I carried on. Told KL, he needs to bat long and hold one end. It was a pretty special innings and also being our second wedding anniversary, it was a special gift. It was a special night and one of the best innings I have played. And batting first we won, feels really good. I know I can contribute in all three formats. It is about putting your mind into it. Now with the World Cup coming up there is motivation. My part becomes crucial as I have to play two roles. When you are not playing T20s for a while and come back and play like this, it feels good. There is one thing about talking about the plans but it is about executing them on the field. I think two guys in the middle with clarity and the way Rahul and Rohit played today was the key today. Batting first, we have been too tight and hesitant, but this pitch allowed us to play freely. It was a good lesson for us and now we need to remember it. Depends on what pitch and ground you are playing on (whether scoring more boundaries is a must). You don't really feel the pressure when you have 20-25 runs on the board. Playing the World Cup in Australia, we will have to figure out how big the boundaries are.

KL Rahul --> Man of the Match: (about the batting performance) You missed Virat also. Both of them (Rohit and Virat) were in destructive mood today. Happy that we won the series and every game is important for us leading up to the T20 World Cup. It's obvious that our batting first record hasn't been that great. Today was a great opportunity and very happy that it came off. This will give a lot of confidence and now know what to do batting first. Each game will be important and a learning lesson for us before the World Cup. Like any other format, once you are set, you want to carry on and know what shots to play on. T20 has been kind and I try to do my best and give the results for the team.

Pollard --> West Indies captain: We will look to take positives from this game. At the end of the day, we knew where we faltered and it's work in progress for us now. It was gettable, we have chased a big total in 2016 here. When you look at the way Rahul and Rohit went about at the start, they took their time and then exploded. Yes, we are disappointed but we look to move on from here. There are a lot of emerging players coming through the ranks. Success is something you need to do day in and day out. Those are things we are working out. All is not lost, we still have 3 ODIs to play. We will look to stay positive.

Most defeats in T20Is
61 Sri Lanka/ West Indies *
60 Bangladesh
56 New Zealand
55 Pakistan
54 Zimbabwe

India in 3-match bilateral series deciders
Mat 10
Won 9
Lost 1 (vs NZ, Hamilton, 2019)
*excludes those series that had abandoned games

Most sixes vs India in India (T20I)
15 WI Hyderabad 2019
12 WI Trivandrum 2019
12 WI Mumbai WS *
--- all in this series
11 WI Mumbai WS 2016
10 NZ Rajkot 2017
10 SL Indore 2017

Bhuvi: (On getting Pollard out) He is a good player when he gets going, so it was satisfying for me. When Pollard gets going, you know he can hit a lot of boundaries. It was satisfying to get him out. Can't bowl length balls to him. Need to bowl yorkers and bouncers. He is so powerful that if you miss even a bit, he'll punish you. In a night match, bowling second is tough. Difficult to grip the ball, and the ball also travels a lot here. Feeling good. When you do well in T20Is, it does feel good. Looking forward to the ODIs.

22:44 Local Time, 17:14 GMT, 22:44 IST -->: Rahul has a friendly chat with Cottrell as they exchange hand-shakes. Virat Kohli walks down from the dressing room to greet his players and today being his wedding anniversary, it's a perfect gift for the Indian skipper. We all know Wankhede is the fortess for a certain team which dons blue in the Indian Premier League. It bleeds blue today as well. This must be a satisfactory victory for Virat and his men after their defeat in Thiruvananthapuram. It was imperative for West Indies to get off to a good start chasing a massive total like 241 but they ended up losing three wickets in the first four overs and also with Lewis' absence, it only made things difficult for them. Shimron Hetmyer and Kieron Pollard launched a few blows to put the pressure back on India. The former played one shot too many and hit a full toss from Kuldeep straight into the hands of Rahul at long-on. West Indies' captain kept plundering the bowling and gave a mini-scare to India. He raised a quick-fire fifty but the task was too steep even for the likes of Pollard as the required rate kept climbing each over. He lacked support at the other side and in the end, India sealed a comfortable 67-run victory to clinch the series. Wait for the presentations which should be up in a bit.

END OF OVER 20

4 Runs

WI: 173 - 8

0 W 0 4 0 0

Kesrick Williams

13 (7)

Sheldon Cottrell

4 (4)

D Chahar

4-0-20-2

19.6

Chahar to Cottrell, no run, that's the end of the game. Knuckle ball to finish things off. Cottrell has no clue as he slightly bends looking to heave it and makes no connection whatsoever. The series in the bag for India as they wrap it up 2-1

19.5

Chahar to Cottrell, no run, back of a length and rushing across the right-hander just outside off, Cottrell swings and misses

19.4

4

Chahar to Cottrell, FOUR, low full toss and Cottrell tonks it over mid-off. Backed away to the leg-side, gets some bat on it and lifts it over the in-field

19.3

Chahar to Cottrell, no run, Pant and Chahar appeal for a caught-behind but umpire Nitin Menon rejects it. The former looks up at Rohit and wants a review but India don't have one. Shorter and gathering height outside off, Cottrell chases with his horizontal bat and can't quite connect. There was some deviation, there could've been a faint edge there. Anyway, it hardly matters now

Sheldon Cottrell, right handed bat, comes to the crease

19.2

W

Chahar to K Pierre, out Caught by (sub)Jadeja!! Soft dismissal this. Virat claps in the dressing room. The knuckle ball from Chahar, dupes Pierre completely as he pokes it without any intent. Chips a sitter to Jadeja at point, who accepts it gleefully. K Pierre c (sub)Jadeja b Chahar 6(12)

Chahar to K Pierre, THATS OUT!! Caught!!

19.1

Chahar to K Pierre, no run, very full and wide of off, Pierre reaches out and pushes it half-heartedly back to the bowler

Deepak Chahar [3.0-0-16-1] is back into the attack

Last over coming up.

END OF OVER 19

12 Runs

WI: 169 - 7

1 0 0 1 6 4

Khary Pierre

6 (10)

Kesrick Williams

13 (7)

Bhuvneshwar

4-0-41-2

18.6

Bhuvneshwar to Kesrick Williams, FOUR, oh, nice. Williams wants to prove a point with the bat. Spots a shortish delivery, backs away and uses the pace on offer. Opens his bat face as well and ramps it over Pant