Rohit Sharma's India registered another comprehensive win over West Indies to take an unassailable 3-1 lead in the five-T20I series. In the Florida leg of the T20I series, West Indies got bundled out for 132 with five balls left in the innings.
The run chase of 192 got off to a horrible start. Opener Brandon King and wicketkeeper-batter Devon Thomas got out early in the powerplay overs. Skipper Nicholas Pooran took on Axar Patel in the powerplay overs but could only contribute with a cameo of 8-ball 24 as he got run out.
In the seventh over, Kyle Mayers' struggled stay at the crease came to an end with Axar redeeming himself. Rovman Powell hit a few out of the park but lost his wicket to left-arm spinner Axar. Shimron Hetmyer could not do much either and got out to Ravi Bishnoi for a run-a-ball 19.
The game did not stay alive in the slog overs as it was too much of an ask from tailenders. Arshdeep Singh capitalised on the opportunity and took three wickets for 12 runs. In the end, India won the match by a big margin of 59 runs.
Earlier, Pooran won the toss and opted to field first. The decision did not prove to be a good one as Indian openers went all guns blazing. In the third over, Obed McCoy conceded 25 runs. Rohit hit three sixes in the powerplay overs before getting out for a 16-ball 33. Rohit also surpassed former Pakistan skipper Shahid Afridi on the list of most sixes in international cricket. Rohit has 477 sixes now, just behind Chris Gayle (533 sixes).
After the 53-run opening partnership, Suryakumar Yadav got out for a 14-ball 24. Alzarri Joseph got his wicket. Deepak Hooda got promoted to no.3 but did not look in best of touches and got out for a 19-ball 21. Batting at no.4, Rishabh Pant was impressive. Pant missed out on a half-century as he became McCoy's first victim of the day. Pant scored 44 runs from 31 deliveries including six fours.
Replacing Shreyas Iyer in the side, Sanju Samson remained unbeaten for 23-ball 30. India's designated finisher Dinesh Karthik could not get a single boundary and got out for a single-digit score to McCoy. Towards the end, Axar gave India's score a much-needed boost with a brilliant cameo of 8-ball 20. India posted a total of 191/5 on the board.
McCoy got an unwanted record to his name as he conceded 66 runs in his quota of four overs. Earlier, McCoy had registered 6/17 in the second T20I, best bowling figures against India in the format.
