India defeats West Indies by 88 runs in 5th T20I, clinch series 4-1

Florida: Ravi Bishnoi’s four and Axar Patel’s three-wicket haul guided India to victory against West Indies by 88 runs and clinch the series by 4-1 at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill on Sunday.

Chasing the target of 189, West Indies got off to the worst start as they lost their three wickets in the powerplay to Axar Patel, Jason Holder (0) Shamarh Brooks (13) and Devon Thomas (10).

West Indies kept on losing wickets and after ten overs of the innings, their score read 64-4. Captain Nicholas Pooran was lbw by Kuldeep in the eighth over. Bishnoi bagged two wickets in the 12th over. He sent Rovman Powell (9 off 13 balls) and Keemo Paul (0) lbw to the pavilion.

In all the struggle, Shimron Hetmyer brought up his half-century in the 26 balls and shortly after he was sent back to the pavilion by Ravi Bishnoi.

West Indies lost 6 wickets for a total of 88 and the next four wickets fell within just 12 runs handing India the 88 runs victory.

Earlier, opted to bat first, India scored 188 runs thanks to Iyer’s half-century, which opened the innings for the first time in T20Is. Hardik Pandya (28) and Deepak Hooda (38) both contributed crucial runs in the death and middle overs.

The Shreyas Iyer and Hooda pair gathered 76 runs in only 7.1 overs and their partnership was stunning as the duo kept hitting many fours and sixes.

After the middle order batters, Sanju Samson and Dinesh Karthik were unsuccessful to leave a mark. It was the stand-in captain who displayed his trademark big-hitting abilities and smashed 28 runs in 16 balls to help India put a total of 188 on the board.

Brief score: India 188/7 (Shreyas Iyer 64, Deepak Hooda 38; Odean Smith 3-33) vs West Indies 100 all out (Shimron Hetmyer 56, Shamarh Brooks 13; Ravi Bishnoi 4-16).