India and Windies locked horns in the second T20I in Kolkata. The hosts have raced to an eight-wicket win and possess an unassailable 2-0 lead. Here's who Twitter celebrated.
It turned out to be a nail-biting finish to the second Twenty20 International (T20I) between hosts India and visitors Windies at the iconic Eden Gardens Stadium in Kolkata on Friday. The former managed to script an eight-wicket win, thus possessing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series. As a result, fans celebrated the success on Twitter.
Winning the toss, Windies skipper Kieron Pollard opted to bowl, as all-rounder Jason Holder was back into the side, while India fielded an unchanged XI. India started shakily, losing Ishan Kishan (2) in the second over with just ten runs on the board. However, fellow opener Rohit Sharma (19) and Virat Kohli (52) put on 49 runs for the second wicket before the former was dismissed in the eighth.
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After a brief while, Kohli brought up his 30th T20I half-century as he and Suryakumar Yadav (8) were dismissed in quick successions by the 14th. However, Rishabh Pant (52) joined forces with Venkatesh Iyer (33) to add 76 more for the fifth wicket before the latter was dismissed in the final over. India finished on a challenging total of 186/5, while for the Windies, off-spinner Roston Chase claimed three wickets.
In reply, Windies lost Kyle Mayers (9) early in the sixth over to leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal, with 34 runs on board, while 25 runs later, fellow opener Brandon King (22) fell to leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the ninth. Regardless, Nicholas Pooran (62) and Rovman Powell (68*) turned the tides by putting on a 100-run partnership for the third wicket.
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During this time, Pooran and Powell also brought up their sixth and second T20I half-century, respectively, while the margin of runs needed to win kept diminishing. Yet, some superb bowling by pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel in the final couple of overs ensured that India walked away with an eight-run win. As a result, the hosts now have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
Brief scores: IND 186/5 (Kohli- 52, Pant- 52; Chase- 3/25) defeats WI 178/3 (Pooran- 62, Powell- 68*; Bhuvneshwar- 1/29) by eight runs.
