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Nicholas Pooran-led West Indies level the series with a five-wicket victory over India at St Kitts. Devon Thomas clinched the game from India after skipper Rohit Sharma decided to go with Avesh Khan instead of his premier fast bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the last over to defend 10 runs. India made a good comeback with the ball despite posting a below par total of 138 but the last over gamble did not pay off and cost the visitors the game.
Ideal start
Chasing a non-threatening total of 139, Brandon King led the charge. King used the fielding restrictions well. On the other end, Kyle Mayers struggled to get going and scored just eight runs from 14 deliveries before getting out in the seventh over to Hardik Pandya.
Spinners turn the tide
Skipper Pooran (14) attacked but got dismissed by Ravichandran Ashwin. Shimron Hetmyer could not make an impact and his troubled stay at the crease was ended by Ravindra Jadeja. West Indies found their hero in Devon Thomas. The wicketkeeper-batter came to Pooran's rescue. Avesh Khan got the wicket of Brandon King with a pin-point yorker in the 16th over. The opener got out after scoring 68 runs from 52 deliveries including eight fours and two sixes.
He did not seem bothered by the wicket of Rovman Powell in the penultimate over. In the final over, Rohit handed the ball to Avesh instead of Bhuvneshwar Kumar. Thomas (31) finished the run chase with a six and four off Avesh to finish the run chase by five wickets with four balls to spare.
Rohit’s golden duck
Earlier, Pooran won the toss and opted to field first. The move worked for West Indies as skipper Rohit got out for a golden duck on the first ball of the match. Suryakumar Yadav could not do well as an opener again and got out after scoring 11 runs. Once again, another left-arm pacer, Obed McCoy troubled Indian openers.
Counter-attack fails
Shreyas Iyer could not do much after hitting a six and got out in the fifth over to Alzarri Joseph. Rishabh Pant counter-attacked. The wicketkeeper-batter got off to a good start but got out to left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. The southpaw scored 24 runs from just 12 deliveries.
Dull finish
After four wickets fell in seventh over, Pandya and Jadeja did some damage control. The scoring run rate fell down in the middle overs. Pandya hit a couple of sixes but could not accelerate. He got out to Holder after a run-a-ball 31.
The designated finisher Dinesh Karthik (7) could not do his magic. Jadeja could not going either and fell to McCoy as well after scoring 27 runs. In the slog overs, McCoy turned the screws and helped West Indies restrict India to 138. India got all out with two balls to spare.
