Highlights, 3rd T20I: India beat West Indies by six wickets

Highlights India beat West Indies by six wickets in Chennai

Highlights India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I from Chennai: A whitewash by India. But they almost made a mess of it. Pant and Dhawan kept the home side comfortably ahead in the chase but almost let it slip. New match, same old problems for India. One of their top 3 needs to fire. It was Rohit the other night, it was Dhawan tonight. The southpaw made sure that the Windies never went into ascendancy mode, after picking up 2 wickets in the Powerplay and found an able partner in Rishabh Pant. The two left-handers started slowly, but then began getting on with it. Runs started to come in large numbers in an over, as high as 18, 16, that too, consistently. Dhawan went on to get his highest T20I score while Pant managed his first T20I half century and the 130-run stand sealed the deal for India. Nearly.It was a period of shot-hitting where Pant was hitting paddles and reverse paddles. However, even when he got out, India needed 7 runs from 10 balls, which should have not been a worry. However, the Indians dragged this into the last over and Dhawan got out too, which made it tricky for India, needing 1 from the final ball. All due to one bad shot from Rishabh Pant, who was nervous for those last 10 balls.

Highlights India vs West Indies, 3rd T20I from Chennai:

22.24 IST: MIX-UP BUT INDIA WIN! Hard luck for Allen. He is on his haunches, heartbroken. Full and outside off, Pandey pushes this towards mid on and sets off for a quick single. Allen hurries to his right but fumbles. Mid-wicket comes running in but Pandey and Karthik steal the run by then. VICTORY BY 6 WICKETS!

* This is getting interesting one run from last ball 

22.23 IST: OUT! Allen removes Shikhar Dhawan on 92 runs. IND 181/4 in 19.5 Overs

* Scores Level

22.21 IST: Dhawan smashes it hard but it's a single only. IND 180/3 in 19.2 runs

* Fabian Allen will bowl the final over of the match

22.18 IST: DOUBLE! Manish Pandey hits the ball and runs quickly for two runs, India need 5 runs off last over now. IND 177/3 in 19 Overs

* Manish Pandey comes to bat

22.14 IST: OUT! Bowled! For once, Pant misses. Full and straight, Pant looks to play the scoop, then the reverse scoop but misses. The ball hits the timber. IND 175/3 in 18.2 Overs

* India need only 8 runs in 12 balls

22.07 IST: Driven through mid off by the batsman. They pick up a single. IND 167/2 in 17.1 Overs

22.06 IST: WIDE! And the free hit continues with it. IND 166/2 in 17 Overs

22.05 IST: NO BALL! A high full toss, Pant pulls it towards backward square leg. A single taken. IND 165/2 in 17 Overs

22.03 IST: FOUR! Full and outside off, chipped over mid off for a boundary. Dhawan is taking Indian team closer to win with that boundary. IND 163/2 in 16.5 Overs

* Oshane Thomas to finish off.

21.57 IST: SIX! Dhawan hits it straight down the ground for the maximum. IND 150/2 in 15.3 Overs

21.54 IST: FOUR! FIFTY! Well, he has got his half century but had that been taken, Pant would have looked very silly. Full and outside leg, Pant just paddles it straight up in the air. Khary Pierre comes running in to his left from long leg but cannot get to the ball. Is not able to stop the boundary either. IND 143/2 in 15.1 overs

21.51 IST: FOUR! Timing has not deserted him at all tonight. Full and down the leg side, Dhawan whips this over mid-wicket and gets a boundary. 47 more needed from 34 balls. The stand is worth 90 now, from 55 deliveries. IND 135/2 in 14.2 Overs

21.48 IST: SIX! SLAP! Full and outside off, Paul comes down the track and sends it sailing over deep mid-wicket! Moves to 45 from 27 balls. IND 129/2 in 13.4 Overs

21.45 IST: SIX! A one-handed hit! This is an amazing shot. Full on middle, Pant looks to deposit this over mid-wicket but his bottom hand goes off the bat. Still, the ball goes the distance! 18 from the over!  IND 120/2 in 13 Overs

21.43 IST: FOUR! Full and wide outside off, Dhawan reaches out and crashes this through the covers for a boundary. IND 111/2 in 12.3 Overs

21.41 IST: FOUR! SLAM! A length ball around off, Pant smashes this straight back over the bowler for a boundary! Moves to 31 from 22 balls with the stand worth 61 from 42 deliveries. 76 needed from 47 now. IND 106/2 in 12.1 Overs

* Kieron Pollard is back on. 2-0-11-0 so far.

21.40 IST: FIFTY! Shikhar Dhawan scores his eight T20I half-century off 36 balls. IND 102/2 in 12 overs   

* Fabian Allen comes into the attack for first time.

21.33 IST: SIX! Excellent use of the Free Hit. Comes down the track and mows it over mid-wicket! IND 93/2 in 10.5 Overs

21.32 IST: NO BALL! Big overstepping from Thomas, puts in that extra effort, lands it full on middle, Dhawan hits it straight back but it hits the stumps at the other end.  IND 87/2 in 10.4 Overs

21.30 IST: SIX! PUMMELED! A short ball, on middle and leg, Pant swivels and pulls it over fine leg! Moves to 24 from 18 balls. The stand is worth 40 from 31 deliveries. 97 more needed from 57. IND 85/2 in 10.3 Overs 

21.25 IST: FOUR! Superb shot! Full and around middle, Pant brings out the reverse sweep and gets it over short third man for a boundary!  IND 74/2 in 9.3 Overs

21.24 IST: FOUR!  A short ball, on middle, pulled over short fine leg for a boundary! Pant releases some pressure from Dhawan. IND 69/2 in 9 Overs

21.21 IST: FOUR!  A length ball, Pant smashes it straight back over the bowler for a boundary! IND 64/2 in 8.2 Overs

21.20 IST: An excellent tight over from Keemo Paula only six runs from it, the pressure is building on the Indian team. IND 60/2 in 8 Overs

* Keemo Paul is back on. 1-0-10-1 so far.

* Pollard comes on attack.

21.10 IST: FOUR! Too loose, on the pads, a half volley flicked past short mid-wicket for a boundary! IND 50/2 in 6 overs 

* Rishabh Pant walks in at number 4, replacing Rahul.

21.08 IST: OUT! Caught behind! Rahul flatters to deceive again. Second wicket for the visitors. Full and outside off, a touch wide and a touch slower in pace, Rahul goes hard at it but is beaten by the change in pace. Gets a thick outside edge which goes into the mitts of the keeper. A forgettable period for Rahul. Showed lots of promise but the duration was very less. IND 45/2 in 5.2 Overs

21.04 IST: FOUR! Brilliant batting. Landed outside off, Rahul backs away and slaps it over covers for a boundary!  IND 43/1 in 4.4 Overs

21.03 IST: FOUR! Lovely shot. Full and outside off, Rahul comes down the track and lofts it over cover for a boundary! IND 39/1 in 4.2 Overs

21.02 IST: FOUR! Dhawan smashes it again for the boundary, it's an expensive over from Windies skipper. IND 35/1 in 4 Overs

21.01 IST: FOUR! He goes again! Full and outside off, Dhawan crashes it over mid off once more! IND 31/1 in 3.5 Overs

20.59 IST: FOUR! Terrific batting. Jumps out of his crease and slashes it over mid off. IND 27/1 in 3.2 Overs

20.58 IST: FOUR! PLUNDERED! A length ball outside off, Rahul comes down the track and punches it through the covers for another boundary! 10 from the over! IND 23/1 in 3 Overs

20.56 IST: FOUR! A bad, bad ball. Short and down the leg side, Rahul pulls it away, slightly wide of the keeper to the fine leg fence! IND 19/1 in 2.5 Overs

20.54 IST: OUT! Big, big wicket! Cricket is such a great leveller. Century the other night, single digits tonight. A slower ball, outside off, fuller in length, Rohit looks to go over the top but cannot quite get underneath it. He mistimes it straight to his counterpart and Carlos Brathwaite makes no mistakes at mid off. Early wicket for the Windies then. India need 169 more need from 106 balls. IND 13/1 in 2.2 Overs 

* Keemo Paul replaces Pierre to bowl the third over

20.52 IST: FOUR! Second boundary from the over by Dhawan. IND 13/0 in 2 Overs

20.50 IST: FOUR! Shikhar Dhawan plays it easily for the boundary. Thomas loses his control over the bowl and Dhawan grabs the opportunity. IND 9/0 in 1.2 Overs

* Oshane Thomas comes into the attack.

20.46 IST: FOUR! Full and down the leg side, Rohit sweeps it over square leg for a boundary! 177 more needed from 117 balls. IND 5/0 in 0.3 Overs

*Indian openers Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are on the field to chase the target of 182 runs.

* India will be disappointed, to say the least. They had the game under the control but let it slip. 80 runs came in the last 6 overs and that is hard to say why. If there is dew, then the hosts will be happy because the Windies will have to bear the brunt of it. If no, then this is a very big total on a sluggish pitch. Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with 2/28 in 4 overs. Stay tuned for the run chase.

* The Windies targetted Krunal Pandya in the 15th over and the Indian struggled to contain. Was it dew? Not sure. Every bowler was taken to the cleaners and as a result, Bravo and Pooran finished an unbeaten stand of 87 from 43 balls. Both played brilliantly but the latter was exceptional, with 53 from just 25 balls, playing paddles, reverse paddles, switch hits, everything.

* India started things off pretty quietly, not giving away too many runs but then Hope and Hetmyer started to counter-attack. They added 51 for the opening wicket but once the stand was broken, India started to come back. The Windies could manage only 50 runs for the loss of 3 wickets since the Powerplay in 8 overs. However, after that, the carnage started.

* Unbelievable hitting. Pooran has just blown the Indian bowlers away. The bowling lacked discipline in the last few overs and was punished.

20.30 IST: SINGLE! Windies team put 181/3 in 20 Overs on the scoreboard

20.28 IST: FOUR! FIFTY! Pooran completes his half-century with Paddle sweep. WI 180/3 in 19.5 Overs

20.27 IST: SIX! Pooran is not stopping for anybody. WI 176/3 in 19.4 Overs

20.26 IST: FOUR! This time Pooran plays it on the rise for the boundary. WI 170/3 in 19.3 Overs

20.24 IST: SIX! Bravo is in full control of his shot and smashes it for the maximum. WI 164/3 in 19.1 Overs 

* Khaleel will bowl the final over of the innings

* Bhuvneshwar give only 9 runs in the 19th over of the match

20.20 IST: REVERSE PADDLE, DROPPED, FOUR! Rohit Sharma is not happy. Yuzvendra Chahal is the fielder. Full and around leg, Pooran brings out the reverse paddle but hits it towards backward point. Chahal jumps a bit too early and the ball bursts through his hands to the point fence. WI 154/3 in 18.2 Overs

* Only four runs from the crucial 18th over 

20.17 IST: YORKER! Khaleel bowls the toe-crushing yorker to Bravo in the crucial stage. WI 146/3 in 17.3 Overs

*Khaleel Ahmed comes back into the attack.

20.10 IST: SIX! SWITCH HIT! What a shot. Fractionally short outside leg, Pooran reverses his stance, changes his grip and gets it over cover! WI 138/3 in 16.1 Overs

20.07 IST: SIX! This is a miscue too but the result is the same! Full and outside off, Pooran looks to clear long off this time. Again, the connection is not that great. Gets more height than distance but has enough to clear long-off in the end!  WI 129/3 in 15.3 Overs

20.05 IST: SIX! Seemed like a miscue but it has sailed over! A length ball, around off, Pooran looks to pull but the bounce does him in. Gets a bit of a top edge but the ball has enough on it to clear long on! WI 123/3 in 15.2 Overs

20.03 IST: SIX! Solid hit! Full and wide outside off, Bravo reaches out and lofts it over long off!  WI 117/3 in 14.5 Overs

20.01 IST: FOUR! SMASHED! Full and around off, Bravo bludgeons it past the bowler for a boundary towards long on. WI 109/3 in 14.3 Overs

* Krunal Pandya is back on attack. 3-0-24-0 so far.

19.58 IST: FOUR! Nice way to end the over. Full and wide outside off, Pooran reaches out and slashes it though point to find the boundary! WI 101/3 in 14 Overs

* Bhuvneshwar Kumar returns. 1-0-9-0 so far.

* Nicholas Pooran comes in at number 5, replacing Ramdin.

19.52 IST: OUT! BOWLED! Sundar finally gets a wicket. A touch short outside off, Ramdin looks to cut but the ball spins in, takes the inside edge and hits the stumps! WI 94/3 in 12.5 Overs

19.51 IST: SIX! HUMONGOUS! Comes down the track, does Ramdin, gets to the pitch of the ball and swings it over mid-wicket! WI 93/2 in 12.3 Overs

19.48 IST: DROPPED! Krunal Pandya drops an easy catch of Denesh Ramdin. WI 83/2 in 11.5 Overs

19.45 IST: FOUR! LEG BYES! Plenty of turn. Landed outside off, Bravo goes back and looks to cut but the ball spins in a mile, goes off something, misses the leg stump and also beats the keeper to the fine leg fence. Replays show that missed everything. Hit nothing. WI 78/2 in 11 Overs

19.42 IST: FOUR! HAMMERED! Full and outside off, tossed up a bit, Bravo reaches out and smashes it over mid off. Lokesh Rahul is a bit too wide at long off and cannot get there! Bravo moves to 11 from 14 balls. WI 72/2 in 10.3 Overs

19.41 IST: DOUBLE! Smart running from Ramdin and Bravo to take quick runs. WI 66/2 in 9.5 Overs 

* Denesh Ramdin is the new man in. Krunal Pandya is back on. 1-0-13-0 so far.

19.38 IST: OUT! There goes Hetmyer and Chahal has his second in as many overs. Short and outside of, the googly again, Hetmyer rocks back and tries to cut it through the off side but is done in by the extra bounce. WI 62/2 in 9 Overs

19.32 IST: DROPPED! Sundar drops the important catch of Shimron Hetmyer on his own bowling. WI 59/1 in 8.0 Overs

* Darren Bravo comes in at number 3, replacing Hope.

19.27 IST: OUT! Caught! Chahal has struck with his very first ball. Probably not the smartest of shots from Hope. He could have waited for a few balls. WI 55/1 in 6.1 Overs

19.24 IST: SIX! Excellent timing. Full and around off, Hetmyer leans and lofts it straight back over the bowler. It lands full on the ropes! 51/0 IN THE POWERPLAY!  WI 51/1 in 6 Overs

19.22 IST: SIX! FETCH THAT! Slightly short on off, Hope comes forward and swings it over mid-wicket!  WI 44/0 in 5.2 Overs 

19.20 IST: FOUR! Attacking stroke! A length ball outside off, Hope comes down the track and lofts it cleanly, with a high elbow, over mid off! WI 37/0 in 4.4 Overs

19.19 IST: FOUR! Bad start. On a length and around middle, Hope pulls it over short fine leg for a boundary! The stand moves to 33 from 25 balls. Shai moves to 12 from 13 balls with his second boundary. WI 33/0 in 4.1 Overs 

* Here comes Bhuvneshwar Kumar

19.17 IST: WIDE! 5 Runs! Sundar is feeling pressure and bowls a poor delivery. WI 29/0 in 3.5 Overs

19.16 IST: FOUR! Hetmyer is not in the mood to spare Sundar. WI 24/0 in 3.5 Overs

19.15 IST: FOUR! FEROCIOUS! Dropped short, around middle, Hetmyer backs away and pulls it over the bowler for a boundary! WI 20/0 in 3.3 Overs

19.11 IST: FOUR! On the pads and Hetmyer guides it for the boundary. WI 15/0 in 2.5 Overs

19.10 IST: FOUR!  Another good shot. A length ball again, wider outside off, Hope hits this on the up, over cover and gets a boundary. The stand moves to 10 from 15 balls. WI 10/0 in 2.3 Overs

19.06 IST: FOUR! Good shot. That is not a bad ball at all. Slightly shorter than full, Hetmyer goes deep in his crease and helps it through square leg for a boundary. WI 6/0 in 1.3 Overs

* Interesting choice Washington Sundar comes to bowl the second over of the match

* Just one run from the first over of Khaleel Ahmed

19.03 IST: On middle and leg, flicked towards mid-wicket for a quick single. The Windies are away.  Shai Hope opens the account for the Windies team  WI 1/0 in 0.5 Over

19.01 IST: Khaleel bowls the fuller delivery to Shai Hope. WI 0/0 in 0.1 Over

19.00 IST: Young Khaleel Ahmed will bowl the first over for India in Chennai. 

18.58 IST: Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer open for West Indies first time in the series.

* Alright. Time to get going. The players are out in the middle. Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope will start off proceedings for the Windies. Interesting choice from Rohit Sharma. He has not gone for Washington Sundar but preferred Khaleel Ahmed instead. Hope to face. Here we go!

*Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal had a chat with Laxman Sivaramakrishnan. The former says that his performance in the Ranji Trophy has helped him a great deal. The mindset, in particular favoured him to have success. Adds that in the Indian T20 League, doing well on smaller grounds gave him immense confidence to do better in bigger grounds outside India. Adds that in one season, he got hit for around 28 sixes but he does not mind that as long as he is able to pick up wickets. Praises Virat Kohli for trusting him and giving him the responsibility to bowl in any situation.

18.45 IST: Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, says that he would have bowled well since India are playing with a long batting line-up. Reckons that the pitch will not change much over the course of 40 overs but also says that it all boils down to how well they play. Informs that the hosts have brought in Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in place of Kuldeep Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah. Is glad with the youngsters shaping up to play cricket for India. On this dead rubber, Sharma says that this is a great opportunity for those who have not played much. On his own batting and scoring another century, Rohit says that he will try his best but he is not interested in records and wants to focus more on how the team performs.

 

18.43 IST: Windies skipper, Carlos Brathwaite, says that history suggests that majority teams winning the toss here have batted first. Says that he is playing here for the first time but has observed that the pitch tends to slow down as the game progresses. On the advice given to his boys, Carlos says that every member of the team is lucky to be here, representing their country and there are plenty of things to play for - pride, careers, etc... Hopes to show the same intensity and hunger as they had before they embarked on this tour. Informs that they are going with an unchanged XI from the previous game.

18.42 IST: White-ball cricket is Windies' strength. They showed that during the second and third ODIs. But since then, India have not allowed them to be competitive at all. Even in the first 2 T20Is, they have rolled them over and there is nothing in the opposition camp that tonight will be any different. The hosts are without Jasprit Bumrah and Kuldeep Yadav and the visitors will hope that it helps them to some extent.

18.35 IST: India include Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar in the third T20I in Chennai.

18.30 IST: West Indies win toss, opt to bat against India in Chennai. Hosts lead 3-match series 2-0

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of today's match as India take on West Indies in the third and final T20I of the three-match series, The play will commence from 7.00 PM IST. 

Brief Report: India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a battered West Indies in the third T20 International in Chennai on Sunday even while looking to test the bench strength. For the cricket loving fans in Chennai, they will certainly miss their 'favourite son' MS Dhoni, who is not a part of the T20 squad. Having sealed the series with a comprehensive win in the second T20I at Lucknow riding on skipper Rohit Sharma's brilliant ton, the home team would look to give reserve bench players like Shreyas Iyer, MS Washington Sundar and the uncapped Shahbaz Nadeem an opportunity before it embarks on the tour of Australia. (Read Full Report Here)