Opener Lendl Simmons on Sunday struck an attacking 67 to lead the West Indies to a series-leveling eight-wicket win over India in the second Twenty20 international.
Simmons put on crucial partnerships, including a 73-run opening stand with Evin Lewis (40), as the West Indies chased down 171 in 18.3 overs to level the three-match series at 1-1.
Simmons survived a dropped catch on 6 by Washington Sundar to complete his sixth Twenty20 half-century and anchor the chase after the tourists’ bowlers limited the hosts to 170-7.
He received good support from Nicholas Pooran, who hit the winning boundary to finish unbeaten on 38 off 18 balls after returning to the side following his four-match ban for ball-tampering.
“To be able to restrict India to 170 after my expensive over, it was fantastic,” West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard said. “The way we batted, we had discussed how to approach the game, and the boys played it well. We have some guys who have done well from the CPL [Caribbean Premier League] and we are excited for them.”
Paceman Kesrick Williams and leg-spinner Hayden Walsh claimed two wickets each to play a key part.
Simmons, who hit four fours and four sixes in his 45-ball knock, and the left-handed Pooran put on 61 runs to flatten the India bowling that was let down by some sloppy fielding.
The India batting depended on Shivam Dube’s 54 off 30 balls and an unbeaten 33 from Pant to post a competitive total after being put into bat first.
India lost their openers with the score on 56, but the left-handed Dube, promoted to No. 3, counterattacked with three fours and four sixes.
“Shivam’s knock helped us reach 170. To be honest, West Indies bowled cutters and their change of pace did not help us, but if we field so poorly, no amount of runs will be enough,” India skipper Virat Kohli said.
Kohli mistimed a cut to be caught at short third-man for 19 off Williams, but only after edging past Rohit Sharma as the world’s most prolific Twenty20 scorer with 2,563 runs.
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