Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant starred with fifties as India beat West Indies by seven wickets in Guyana to complete a clean sweep of the three-match T20I series. Here's how it happened.
00:28 | Pant finishes in style
INDIA WINS by seven wickets! Rishabh Pant ends it with a six down the ground! And that's a 3-0 series sweep for Virat Kohli's side.
The man of the match has to be Rishabh Pant. Showed maturity to stay on the pitch and play it out alongside his captain.
00:19 | Kohli departs!
Kohli is out! A bit late for the West Indies. Kohli goes for a brilliant 59. Oshane Thomas gets his wicket as Kohli cuts it straight to Evin Lewis at point.
Rishabh Pant gets down to a low full toss and flicks it through the offside for a six. India just needs 6 to win from the last two overs .
00:15 | PANT HITS 50!
It's been a composed and level-headed innings from Rishabh Pant who brings up his half-century , and does so with a brilliant shot. He flicks Cottrell for a boundary over short fine leg.
The required run rate that was over 9 just a few overs ago is now just a run a ball. And they aren't relaxing yet. Pant and Kohli have done some excellent running between the wickets.
18 to win from 18.
00:06 | FIFTY TO KOHLI
Virat Kohli brings up his 21st T20I fifty. He smashes Narine to the boundary, on his backfoot.
Looks like Pant has been given the license to go for it. Or maybe he hasn't been. Not like he cares. He reverse sweeps Narine for a four.
120/2 after 16 overs
00:05 | 38 to win from 30 balls
100-up for India as Kohli whips it through the onside to the boundary. It's sweetly-timed.
Pant joins the party with a brilliant six through the offside.
00:00 | 52 to win from 36 balls
Another close call for Kohli! He tries to hit Brathwaite over long on but doesn't time it well and it goes high up in the air. Luckily for him, it lands just inside the circle, in no man's land.
He makes amends on the next ball. Smashes it through cover for a four. It seemed to hit the boundary on the full, but replays show it pitched just before.
23:56 | 62 to win from 42 balls
A close call for Kohli. He tries to play a Narine delivery on the onside, but it gets an outside edge and rises up in the air. It lands safely, though.
In the next over (Keemo Paul), Kohli brings up the 50-run partnership with Rishabh Pant with a single. How often do you see Pant in one of those?
Meanwhile, the required run rate has climbed above 9 an over. Rishabh Pant is going to fix that. Hits a full ball for six over mid off and finishes the over with a shot to Paul's right leg. Seems fine.
23:48 | 71/2 after 11.0 overs
That beautiful cover drive from Virat Kohli brings up a boundary in the Carlos Brathwaite over. No dot balls in this one. 9 runs of the over. That's what Kohli can do in chases - get you closer and closer without you knowing.
23:43 | 62/2 after 10 overs
At the halfway mark, India is 62/2. Only slightly better than West Indies' 58/3 in 10 overs. But the outfield has dried up more, the sun is beating down and there shouldn't too much of a problem accelerating now, especially with 8 wickets in hand.
Kohli and Pant have kept the scoreboard ticking but one of them needs to push for more now.
23:39 | 58/2 after 9.0 overs
Narine into the attack. Pant plays a late cut to the boundary.
Fabian Allen keeps the boundaries in check in the next over. Kohli looks slightly frustrated as he's trying to accelerate.
23:34 | 45/2 after 7.0 overs
Kohli keeps the scoreboard running. He's finding gaps for the twos and finds the odd boundary as well; cuts Allen late, beating both fielders on the off side.
23:23 | Rahul departs! 27/2 after 5.0 overs
That's as far as KL Rahul's aggression could get him. Fabian Allen strikes!
Rahul comes down the track to Allen but the leg-spinner pushes it flatter and quicker. It sneaks through between bat and pad and it's a simple stumping for Pooran behind the stumps.
Replays show he got an inside edge too. Would have been caught out as well.
23:19 | Rahul the aggressor
Rahul pulls away a similar delivery that got Dhawan out, to the boundary. He's the aggressor here.
In the next over, the aggression almost gets him out. He goes for an upper cut off Thomas. It's mishit and goes towards Cottrell at third man. He can't quite get there. It's a four.
24/1 after 4.0 overs
23:06 | Dhawan OUT! 10/1 after 2.0 overs
Oshane Thomas gets Shikhar Dhawan! He pulls a short delivery on the leg stump straight to Cottrell at short fine leg. Virat Kohli comes in to bat.
KL Rahul hits Sheldon Cottrell for a six in the first over.
22:47 | Powell takes West Indies to 146/6
Rovman Powell finishes with a flourish. Two sixes in the final over and he finishes on 32 off 20 balls. Continued where he left off in the last match.
Saini bowls the last over. The second ball is a full toss on the leg and Powell smashes it over midwicket. The fifth ball also goes for a six, Powell, on his toes, hits it behind square leg.
22:42 | 130/6 after 19 overs
Powell is trying to pummel balls to the boundary. The outfield isn't fast enough yet.
Fabian Allen gets hold of a full one and slogs it for a six over mid on.
22:35 | Brathwaite OUT!
Carlos Brathwaite begins the 18th over with a six over mid-on. Goes for another one on the next ball but it goes straight to long-on.
And Washington Sundar gets his first T20I wicket!
Fabian Allen is in.
22:27 | Pollard gone
Navdeep Saini takes Pollard's middle stump, deceiving him with a slower ball.
Pollard departs after an innings of 58 off 45 balls. Really picked up West Indies after that early Deepak Chahar onslaught.
22:21 | Pollard reaches 50
Fifty for Pollard! And he brings it up in style. Hits Krunal Pandya for a six over long on. Looks effortless.
He follows that up with another HUGE six. It's right in the slot and he flicks it straight down the ground. It reaches the stands. Such is his power.
100/5 after 15 overs.
22:19 | 84/4 after 14.0 overs
India loses its review.
Saini strikes Pollard on the pad on the full. Only Pant and Saini appeal but Kohli is convinced to go for a review. It's missing leg stump.
22:14 | OUT! 80/4 after 13.1 overs
Navdeep Saini is brought back into the attack and Nicolas Pooran goes! He tries to run the ball down to third man but only gets a thick outside edge to Rishabh Pant. It's a good catch, diving to his left.
The 66-run partnership comes to an end. But Rovman Powell will join Pollard on the pitch. Powell's fifty brought West Indies close to its target in the second T20I.
22:05 | 65/3 after 11.0 overs
Krunal Pandya comes into the attack. Keeps it down to just a run after five balls. But the last ball is full and wide and Nicolas Pooran smashes it over long off into the stands. A six to end the over.
22:02 | 58/3 after 10.0 overs
Now it's Sundar on the end of Pollard's hitting. The first ball is in the slot and it goes for a six over long on.
He manages to not concede another boundary but India must be slightly shook now.
21:58 | 46/3 after 9.0 overs
Keiron Pollard has different plans for how Rahul Chahar's debut should go. He hits the first ball down the ground for a six. Chahar tosses it up and Pollard gets only his toe end on it, but his power takes it into the stands.
Kohli positions Rahul at a very straight mid-on position. It works at first.
Pollard hits his Mumbai Indians teammate for another six.
21:54 | 33/3 after 8.0 overs
Washington Sundar is brought into the attack for the first time outside the powerplay this series. He opened the bowling in the last two matches, in fact.
It's a good over. Concedes only three runs.
21:52 | 30/3 after 7.0 overs
Rahul Chahar bowls his first over in international cricket.
Nicolas Pooran gets an outside edge past slip and to the boundary.
21:46 | 22/3 after 6.0 overs
Deepak Chahar bowls his third over as Kohli looks to keep the pressure on. It's another good over. No wickets, though.
Navdeep Saini into the attack and Pollard welcomes him with a six down the ground. He's off the mark.
21:37 | Chahar on fire
Deepak Chahar! WOW! He dismisses Shimron Hetmyer lbw.
It's a similar delivery to the one that got Lewis out. A beautiful inswinger that totally did Hetmyer inside out. Might have gone to just graze leg stump but no review available.
An excellent over comes to an end. 14/3 after 4 overs.
21:31 | WICKET!
Deepak Chahar again! Evin Lewis is given lbw after a beautiful delivery swinging into the left-hander. He goes for a review but it's plump on the middle stump.
Keiron Pollard comes in.
21:28 13/1 after 3.0 overs
9 runs from that over. Evin Lewis gets the first boundary of the match, pulling a short ball at the waist to the ropes. The slow outfield is helping running between the wickets. They run a three. How often do you see that in a T20 match?
21:23 | OUT! 4/1 after 2.0 overs
Sunil Narine is caught by Navdeep Saini at mid on, trying to smash through a slower ball. It hits the bottom end of the bat and Saini takes a diving catch. Deepak Chahar strikes!
Chahar is troubling the batsmen with swing either ways. Showing his cousin how it's done?
Narine gets a shot over the fielders in the circle but the soggy outfield stops it in its tracks. Almost bringing it to a halt immediately as it landed. Good toss to win for India; unless it rains again.
21:18| WI 1/0 after 1.0 overs
Bhuvi with an excellent over to open the innings. He's generating a bit of movement outside the off stump and troubling both Lewis and Narine.
21:21 | Start
It's all okay. We're going to get a start finally. India is out on the field. Sunil Narine and Evin Lewis open for West Indies.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar to open the bowling.
21:04 | Covers on or off?
The groundsmen and umpires are having a bit of a game with the outfield covers. The covers were being taken off but the umpires in the middle have signalled for them to be back on.
But wait, they don't want it on yet. Light showers out there. Wait it out?
We're only a few minutes away from the scheduled start.
India wins toss. Chooses to bowl first.
Rahul Chahar makes his international debut. Virat Kohli is playing. Rohit Sharma has opted to rest. KL Rahul comes in his place. Deepak Chahar will also play today, alongside his cousin Rahul. Ravindra Jadeja won't play today.
So everyone except Shreyas Iyer has got a game this series.
India XI: KL Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Washington Sundar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rahul Chahar, Deepak Chahar, Naveep Saini
West Indies XI: Carlos Brathwaite, Evin Lewis, John Campbell, Nicholas Pooran, ShimronHetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sunil Narine, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen
It's a big day for Rahul Chahar .
20:40 | The match will happen
Toss at 11:15am local time. Five minutes from now.
The match will start at 11:40am local time. Full 40 overs.
20:32 | Official inspection
The inspection is taking place. To clarify, they're inspecting the outfield, making sure it has dried out enough for play to start.
The umpires are talking to the captains - Brathwaite...and Kohli? Oh there he. Looks like the Indian captain will play after all.
Meanwhile, ESPN Cricinfo is reporting that Rahul Chahar will make his debut today. We'll know soon, hopefully.
20:26 | While we wait...
While we wait, here are some sports news to catch up on from the day.
- The Duleep Trophy 2019-20 squads have been announced. Here's who's playing.
- Wayne Roone y is going back to England. This is why .
- More woes for England as James Anderson won't play the second Ashes Test. Here's why .
- Durand Cup: East Bengal thrashed Jamshedpur FC 6-0. ( Report )
A fast-bowling legend announced his retirement from Test cricket yesterday. Here are Dale Steyn's five best spells in Tests.
20:06 | Next inspection
Next inspection at 11:00am local time. It's 10:35am now.
20:01 | Kohli rested?
The umpires are having a chat with Rohit Sharma and Carlos Brathwaite. So does that mean Rohit is captain today and Kohli is rested ?
Ravi Shastri is also out on the field.
19:57 | Inspection
The umpires are having a look. Still no word about when we can expect play to start.
19:28 | Rain update
The weather forecast was right. There were some light showers earlier and the toss had been delayed.
But the rain has stopped now and the covers are coming off. We'll have a delayed start due to a wet outfield.
Pitch report
Darren Ganga: "Still overcast. There is a tinge of grass across this surface, also looks a bit dark - the color of this deck. The average first innings score is 140."
19:18 | Debut for Rahul Chahar?
There could be quite a few changes in the India squad today. There's a strong chance that Rahul Chahar could make his international debut.
The 20-year-old had an impressive season with Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League, picking up 13 wickets. He was part of the recent India A tour to West Indies. He played three matches and picked up six wickets.
18:39 Weather watch
Weather forecasts across the internet point to chances of rain in Guyana today.
AccuWeather says there's chance of a couple of morning showers (around now), but cloudy for the rest of the day. Expect some moisture in the field. Very less chance of a washout, however.
India won the second T20I in Florida by the DLS method after play was called off as lightning turned into steady showers.
This is how the first and second T20Is in Florida unfolded. As is usual in such situations, the Windies will be playing for pride in the final T20I. There's also the added motivation of the match being at home in Guyana. India, meanwhile, will try to complete a clean sweep of the T20 series, maybe with an experimental squad.
PREVIEW
The series pocketed, India is likely to experiment with line-up in pursuit of a whitewash when it takes on an embattled West Indies in the third and final T20 International here on Tuesday. India concluded the two-match U.S. leg of the series by taking an unassailable 2-0 lead after notching up a 22-run win in the second game on Sunday.
India’s performance wasn’t the most fluent in the first match but in the second, it put up a dominant performance. While the batting line-up may not change much, India may try a new combination in bowling. The signal had been given by captain Virat Kohli himself. “Sealing the series gives the chance to bring few guys in. Idea is always going to be to win first. But winning the first two games gives the cushion,” Kohli had said after Sunday’s win.
It will not be a surprise if K. L. Rahul is drafted into the playing XI, replacing the struggling Rishabh Pant, who managed scores of 4 and 0 in the first two matches. Kohli has backed Pant to the hilt and it will be interesting to see if the 21-year-old gets another chance.
Neither Rohit Sharma nor Shikhar Dhawan are likely to be rested. For Dhawan, it’s his first series after missing the World Cup due to a thumb fracture and since he has not scored many runs in the first two matches, he will be eager to get some before the One-Day Internationals (ODIs) and Tests.
Possible international debut for Rahul Chahar
Leg-break bowler Rahul Chahar may make the cut in place of young paceman Navdeep Saini. Deepak Chahar, cousin of Rahul, may also find a place in the playing XI and Ravindra Jadeja could be rested.
For the host team, putting up a complete performance remains a challenge. Considered a force in the shortest format, it has not lived up to its reputation so far. The likes of Kieron Pollard and skipper Carlos Brathwaite are due a big knock.
If they can manage to walk away with a win on Tuesday, it will be a confidence-booster for the side ahead of the ODIs and Tests.
The toss is scheduled for 7:30pm. Stay tuned.
The match can be streamed live on SonyLIV and the SonyLIV app.
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