- India defeated West Indies by 9 wickets in the 4th T20I in Lauderhill, coming back brilliantly to level the series after being 2-0 down.
- Winning the toss and batting first, WI posted a total of 178/8; powered by healthy contributions from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer. Kuldeep Yadav took 2 for 26.
- In reply, Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill made a mockery of the target as they formed a 165 runs partnership, steering India to victory.
West Indies player ratings
Shimron Hetmyer 9/10: After a torrid run so far in the series, Hetmyer finally showed a glimpse of his real quality with a brilliant 61 off 39 under pressure. Coming in at 6 with the WI at 57/4, he showed great powers of recovery and played the spinners very well. He hit 3 boundaries and 4 sixes, showing the power game everyone knows he possesses. It was a much needed innings for both Hetmyer and his team.
Shai Hope 8/10: Getting his first opportunity of the series, the classy right hander showed he can also be an asset in this format. Although he missed out on a half-century, his 45 off 29 ball was laden with some glorious strokes and laid the platform for Hetmyer and company to fire at the back end. A milestone would have been nice but ultimately his performance bodes well for his future in this format.
Kyle Mayers 7/10: Mayers continued his trend of getting a blistering start and not going on to make it big. Still his firing 17 off 7 balls was the pace setter of the match as it pushed India on to the backfoot. Mayers cameo also hampered India’s spin bowling ploy somewhat, smashed 14 runs of the very first over of the innings from Axar Patel.
Akeal Hossain 7/10: Amidst the chaos caused by Gill and Jaiswal, he was perhaps the only bowler to bring in some semblance of control with his left-arm spin. He has been the one constant with the ball throughout the series for WI and even though he didn’t get a wicket here, he tried his best to restrict the Indian batters, albeit with no real support.
Jason Holder 6/10: While he didn’t provide any significant wicket taking threat and didn’t contribute with the bat, he bowled some relatively tight lines and didn’t allow the Indian openers to rip him apart like they did with the other bowlers. although as an experienced campaigner, he would surely expect more from himself.
Brandon King 5/10: King once again played an innings which had some beautiful strokes but a general struggle to get out of the blocks quickly. He hit two sixes but could only score 18 off 16 balls as he struggled to rotate strike against spin in particular. This halted the West Indian charge and created the pressure. He needs to translate his CPL form to international cricket.
Romario Shepherd 4/10: Hit a six with the bat and took the only wicket with the ball, but in between he was absolutely taken to the cleaners by Jaiswal and Gill. With the bat he could have contributed more as he got out just after hitting a six. With the ball he was errant in line and length, allowing Gill and Jaiswal to take advantage.
Obed McCoy 4/10: The Indian assault started by Jaiswal striking McCoy for four of the very first ball of the first over which went for 10 runs. This put the pedal on the chase and McCoy finished with figures of 3 for 32 off his 3 overs. The problem with McCoy’s spell was how easily the two youngsters scored runs of him without taking any risk.
Odean Smith 3/10: While he played a decent hand with the bat, scoring 15 off 12 balls, he was blasted away for 30 of two overs as he never looked like a genuine quality option with the ball. With the bat he certainly has the power as his massive six of the last ball of the innings showed, but the WI will have to reconsider playing him as a strike bowler.
Rovman Powel 3/10: After a power-packed innings in the previous T20, captain powell promoted himself to come in ahead of Hetmyer but couldn’t turn it on as he was dismissed after failing to pick a wrong-un from Kuldeed Yadav. His solitary over went for 13 runs as well but was broadly irrelevant as the game looked beyond WI by then.
India player ratings
Yashasvi Jaiswal (Player of the Match) 10/10: A steller IPL season, a magnificent test debut and now a dominant MoTM performance from the RR opener. He formed a 165 run partnership with Shubman Gill, scoring 84 runs off just 51 balls which included 11 boundaries and 3 sixes. The full range of strokes was on display, as he demolished the WI bowling without even breaking a sweat. No wonder the praises keep on coming from every direction.
Shubman Gill 10/10: If any game needed two players of the matches, it was this one. It is impossible to conclusively argue who played better and apart from the fact that he got out after virtually finishing the game, there were no flaws in this innings from Gill. He needed this innings desperately, as he had a forgettable series so far. To compensate, Gill put on a masterclass, scoring 77 off 47, hitting 5 sixes in the process. This is the Shubman Gill India wants to see.
Kuldeep Yadav 9/10: It was yet another sublime performance from India’s premier spinner as he bowled the over which turned the game in India’s favour. With West Indies going strong at 55/2 he dismissed the two most destructive WI batters in the form of Pooran and Powell to reduce them to 57/4. Within the space of 5 balls he put India in the driver’s seat with his wizardry.
Mukesh Kumar 7/10: The seamer continued his inspiring story in international cricket, as he gave a demonstration of his brilliant skills as a death bowler for India, finishing with figures of 1 for 25 in 3 overs. Introduced as the sixth bowler, the Delhi Capitals pacer landed some pinpoint yorkers and prevented West Indian power hitters from going berserk at the back end.
Tilak Varma 6/10: Fact that Tilak isn’t scoring higher is because Gill and Jaiswal did all the work even before he could come on. However, yet another unbeaten innings in which he was on the pitch to secure the win would continue to boost his already sky high confidence even though it was no milestone.
Arshdeep Singh 6/10: While the left-arm pacer was a tad expensive, giving away 38 runs in his 4 overs, he took three vital wickets, including that of the dangermen Mayers and Hetmyer to halt their assault. His timely breakthroughs may have been the difference between West Indies getting a potentially mammoth score and the competitive one they ended up with.
Yuzvendra Chahal 5/10: The leg-spinner was not at his best as he was smashed for 36 runs in his 4 overs. He was errant in his lengths and wasn’t helped by the presence of two of WI’s best players of spin in Hope and Hetmyer. He can take solace in the fact that he got a well set Hope out, which had an impact on WI scoring rate.
Axar Patel 5/10: He bowled two expensive overs in the powerplay which meant West Indies were off and away at a rapid rate. However, he came back relatively well, bowling two tight overs and picking up the wicket of Romario Shepherd just when he was about to launch. This restricted the WI somewhat in the back end.
Hardik Pandya 5/10: Gill and Jaiswal’s heroics meant the Captain didn’t have to bat. While he bowled a solitary over which went for 14, he marshaled his troops very well to navigate phases when the WI looked threatening.
Suryakumar Yadav (N/A): The man of the match from the previous game wasn’t even needed to come out with the bat as Gill and Jaiswal’s partnership sealed a comfortable win for India.
Sanju Samson (N/A): Yet another chance to impress passes by Sanju Samson as he wasn’t even needed to put his pads on for the second game running.
India vs West Indies 4th T20I summary and highlights
Batting first, West Indies got off to a flier with Mayers a major contributor through his fiery cameo. West Indies finished the powerplay at 55/2, with a solid platform to launch, Hope and Pooran in the crease and power-hitters still to come. Kuldeep Yadav turned that around in his head, as he dismissed Pooran and Hetmyer within one over. Hope and Hetmyer did well to rebuild the innings, scoring 45 off 29 and 61 off 39 respectively, taking WI to a score of 178/8 in their 20 overs.
Chasing 179 Yashasvi Jaiswal, playing his 2nd T20I game, and Shubman Gill made the target look absolutely silly as they put on a mammoth 165 runs partnership in just 93 balls. MoTM Jaiswal scored 84 off 51 and Gill accompanied him brilliantly with 77 off 47. When Gill got out in the 16th over, the win was all but a formality, with the only disappointment being a failure to notch up a well deserved 10 wicket victory. Tilak and Jaiswal completed it easily, and leveled the series 2-2, setting up a series deciding 5th game.
