TAROUBA: A strong bowling attack helped India restrict West Indies to 149/6 in the opening T20I of the five-match series at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Thursday.
Rovman Powell scored the highest for West Indies with 48 off 32 while Nicholas Pooran played a fine knock of 41 runs in 34 balls. For India, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal bagged two wickets each while Kuldeep Yadav and captain Hardik Pandya scalped one a piece.
Put to bowl first, India were off to a good start as Yuzvendra Chahal gave West Indies two big blows, dismissing both openers Kyle Mayers and Brandon King in the fifth over of the game.
Nicholas Pooran then came out to bat and got off to the mark with a four as the ball raced away off at mid-off. On the second delivery, he slammed a big six to end Chahal’s over.
Pooran found boundaries off Axar Patel also as he drove the ball into the stands at deep mid-wicket, then pushed through the covers for four on the next delivery.
The left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav was then brought into the attack and the spinner proved captain Hardik Pandya’s decision right as he removed Johnson Charles for 3 in the 8th over of the game.
The right-handed batter and captain Rovman Powell then came to bat. In the 15th over of the game, Pandya provided his team with a big breakthrough as he removed well-set batter Pooran for 41.
The left-handed batter Shimron Hetmyer then came out to bat and got off to mark with a fine four. Powell then shifted gears and slammed Indian bowlers gathering boundaries at regular intervals.
Powell slammed Arshdeep Singh for 13 runs with the help of one four and one maximum.
Arshdeep made a fine comeback and he removed Hetmyer and Powell in the 19th over of the game. However, the pacer delivered four wides.
Mukesh Kumar delivered fine yorkers in the last over to restrict West Indies to 149/6 in 20 overs.
Brief score: West Indies 149/6 (Rovman Powell 48, Nicholas Pooran 41; Yuzvendra Chahal 2-22) vs India. (ANI)