Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma. (Photo Source: RANDY BROOKS/AFP via Getty Images)
A brilliant bowling display from Kuldeep Yadav followed by a sensational batting show from Suryakumar Yadav helped India beat the West Indies by 7 wickets. The hosts still lead the series 2-1 with two more games to go.
Speaking in detail about the game, opting to bat first, West Indies got off to a steady start as the openers added 55 runs for the first wicket. Axar Patel drew the first blood for India as Kyle Mayers departed for a 20-ball-25. Kuldeep Yadav then partnered with Axar to trap Johnson Charles a couple of overs later.
Nicholas Pooran looked dangerous with the bat, but Kuldeep got rid of him with a peach and then struck again with a wicket of well-set Brandon King, who walked back scoring a run-a-ball 42. Rovman Powell came into the crease all guns blazing, as he smacked a 19-ball 40 helping the hosts post a defendable total of 159/5 in 20 overs. Powell struck at 210.53 and his innings included 4 boundaries. For India, Kuldeep picked three wickets while Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar picked one each.
Chasing 160, India lost debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal for mere one run as Obed McCoy drew the first blood for West Indies while his partner Shubman Gill continued his poor run scoring six off 11 deliveries. India lost the openers with the scorecard reading 34/2 in fifth over. The Mumbai partners Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma stole the show with an 87-run stand for the third wicket as Suryakumar went berserk against the opposition bowlers, smacking them all around the ground for fun.
He smashed 83 runs off just 44 balls before getting dismissed. His innings included 10 fours and four maximums. Once Suryakumar was dismissed, Tilak Varma carried the momentum as he smashed a 37-ball 49* while skipper Hardik Pandya remained unbeaten on 20 to help India beat West Indies by seven wickets.
Meanwhile let us look at the stats and numbers from 3rd T20I between India and West Indies:
50 – Kuldeep Yadav completed 50 wickets in T20Is, becoming the seventh India bowler to achieve this feat.
30 -Kuldeep Yadav completed 50 wickets in 30 matches, the least number of matches taken by an Indian to complete 50 T20I wickets. Yuzvendra Chahal is next in the list having achieved the feat in 34 matches.
1780 –Suryakumar Yadav has aggregated 1780 runs in T20Is, the fourth highest by an Indian in T20Is, surpassing Shikhar Dhawan’s tally of 1759. Virat Kohli (4008), Rohit Sharma (3853) and KL Rahul (2265) are the three batters ahead of him.
100 – Suryakumar Yadav (101) completed 100 T20I sixes. He took 49 innings to reach the landmark, which is the joint-second fewest innings along with Chris Gayle. Evin Lewis tops the list, having notched up 100 sixes in 48 innings.
1614 -Nicholas Pooran has scored 1614 runs in T20Is for West Indies, the second most runs for West Indies in the format surpassing Marlon Samuels’ tally (1611). Chris Gayle tops the list with 1899 runs.
83 -Suryakumar Yadav scored 83 runs in the third T20I, the second highest individual score in a T20I played at Providence. Mahela Jayawardene tops the list with score of 100 against Zimbabwe in 2010.
2 -Tilak Varma becomes the second Indian batter after Suryakumar Yadav to register three 30+ scores in first three T20Is.
139 –Tilak Varma has aggregated 139 runs in three games, the joint second most runs by an Indian in first three T20I innings. Deepak Hooda tops the list with 172 runs.