Evin Lewis blazed his second hundred towards India to steer the West Indies to a rampaging 9-wicket victory within the one-off T20 worldwide at Sabina Park on Sunday.
Replying to the vacationers’ difficult complete of one hundred ninety for six, Lewis stole the highlight from returning native hero Chris Gayle with a blistering unbeaten one hundred twenty five in taking the house aspect to 194 for one with 9 balls to spare.
It was the primary T20 worldwide hundred scored by a West Indian within the Caribbean, and places the left-handed opener alongside Gayle and New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum as the one gamers to have scored multiple century within the worldwide format of the sport.
Lewis’ innings was highlighted by 12 towering sixes and 6 fours off solely sixty two deliveries.
This memorable knock got here eleven months after he compiled a good one hundred towards the identical opponents in Fort Lauderdale, the place the West Indies sneaked a one-run win a excessive-scoring encounter.
He utterly dominated an eighty two-run opening stand with Gayle, who fell to debutant Kuldeep Yadav for 18 within the ninth over.
Marlon Samuels then supported Lewis’ explosive innings with an assured unbeaten 36 off 29 deliveries as their unbroken second-wicket stand of 112 noticed the West Indies house within the nineteenth over.
Lewis fittingly ended the competition with one other swing for six off spinner Ravindra Jadeja to realize the very best particular person rating in a T20 worldwide chase.
“It was behind my thoughts that I did not get a rating within the one-dayers however I simply consider in backing myself and enjoying my fashion of recreation,” stated a delighted Lewis after receiving the person-of-the-match award.
“This can be a excellent bowling group so any runs you get towards them is absolutely appreciated.”
In addition to the 25-yr-previous from Trinidad and Tobago performed although, India didn’t assist their trigger by twice dropping him within the deep as he approached the half-century mark, Mohammad Shami and Dinesh Karthik the culprits within the subject.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni additionally missed a stumping probability when Gayle was on one whereas Samuels benefited from a few slender escapes in what was an untidy effort by India within the subject.
Earlier, Indian captain Virat Kohli (39 off 22 balls) and Shikhar Dhawan (23 off 12) led the cost after they have been despatched in to bat by Carlos Brathwaite, the pair placing on sixty four for the primary wicket till each fell within the sixth over of the innings to Kesrick Williams.
In simply his second T20 worldwide, Rishabh Pant struggled to get going nevertheless it was the skilled Karthik who dominated an 86-run third-wicket stand earlier than he fell for forty eight, bowled behind his legs by Samuels.
His innings occupied simply 29 deliveries and included three sixes and 5 fours.
Regardless of his dismissal at 151 for 3 within the sixteenth over, India nonetheless seemed on the right track for a complete in extra of 200.
Nevertheless Jerome Taylor eliminated each Dhoni and Pant (38 off 35 balls) off successive deliveries, whereas Williams claimed his second wicket when he accounted for Kedar Jadhav by way of a wonderful diving catch by Sunil Narine coming off the backward-level boundary.
“We fell about 30 runs brief with the bat and in case you do not seize your possibilities within the subject you do not need to win,” stated an clearly dissatisfied Kohli.
“Somebody on the prime of the order ought to have gotten at the least eighty-ninety to take us as much as 220-plus. However all these video games are good indicators as to how some our guys reply to strain conditions.”
Regardless of being outplayed three-1 within the previous one-day worldwide collection, there’s a sense of anticipation for the return of Gayle, the large-hitting opening batsman whose final look for the regional aspect was on the World T20 last towards England in Kolkata 15 months in the past.
India have been pressured to make a late change to their eleven as all-rounder Hardik Pandya picked up an damage within the morning heat-ups with Jadeja taking his place.
