#WIvIND-1STT20I-23 : West Indies Bowlers Hold Nerve To Beat India By 4 Runs ; Tilak Varma Impresses On Debut

Picture : ICC/ Twitter

West Indies Took a 1-0 Lead in the five – match T20I series as they held their nerve in the bowling towards the end to beat India by mere 4 runs.

West Indies scored a modest 149 for six after opting to bat. Skipper Rovman Powell led the way with 48 off 32 balls, while Nicholas Pooran made 41 off 34 deliveries. For India, leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal (2/24), playing his first match of the tour, and Arshdeep Singh (2/31) picked up two wickets apiece.

Tilak Varma looked very much at home on his international debut before India made a mess of a modest run-chase. With 37 needed off the last 30 balls and six wickets in hand, India self-destructed to end at 145 for nine in 20 overs.

Jason Holder brought the West Indies back into the game by producing a maiden in the 16th over, when he found the stumps of India skipper Hardik Pandya (19) before Sanju Samson (12) got run out.

Tail-ender Arshdeep Singh (12) made the game more interesting with a couple of fours in the penultimate over, making use of an extra fielder in the circle due to the home team’s slow over rate. Eventually, Romario Shepherd was able to defend 10 runs off the final over.

Earlier, India handed maiden T20 caps to young batter Tilak Varma and pacer Mukesh Kumar, who made his Test and ODI debut earlier on the tour.