India rode on Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill’s century stand to beat West Indies by nine wickets and level series 2-2.
New Delhi: Having faced Obed McCoy and Jason Holder at the nets during the Indian Premier League earlier this year helped Yashasvi Jaiswal, admitted the youngster after scoring a match-winning 87 not out in the fourth T20I against West Indies to keep India in the series.
Playing just his second T20 international, Jaiswal toyed with the likes of Holder and McCoy as India chased down 179 with utmost ease and romped home in 17.1 overs with nine wickets to spare. With this win, India level the five-match series 2-2 with the decider to be played on Sunday.
Both Holder and McCoy were a part of the Rajasthan Royals franchise in IPL 2023 and bowled extensively to Jaiswal during training. While McCoy just got a game, Holder played eight matches in IPL 2023 but without much success.
On the other hand, Jaiswal took the world by storm with 600-plus runs including a century and looked to have started from where he left in the IPL. With the asking rate close to nine runs per over, Jaiswal was at his dangerous best along with Shubman Gill who scored 77.
Yashasvi Jaiswal scored his maiden T20I half-century & bagged the Player of the Match award as #TeamIndia sealed a clinical win over West Indies in the 4th T20I. 🙌 🙌
Scorecard ▶️ https://t.co/kOE4w9Utvs #WIvIND pic.twitter.com/xscQMjaLMb
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 12, 2023
The duo stitched together for 165 runs for the opening wicket, equalling KL Rahul and Rohit Sharma’s feat against Sri Lanka in Indore back in 2017. Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson’s 176-run stand against Ireland last year remains India’s highest partnership in the shortest format of the game.
“I have played a lot of ball against them (Holder and McCoy), helped me to pick them,” Jaiswal, who was awarded the Player of the Match, said after the game. Although the wickets were slightly better for batters compared to what was in the Caribbean, Jaiswal felt it wasn’t easy to bat on in Lauderhill.
“It’s not easy, I am happy to go out there and perform. I try to play how team needs. I try to score quickly and how many shots I can play in the powerplay. Reading the wicket, reading the situation, everything is important,” added the 20-year-old southpaw.
Speaking about his partnership with Gill, Jaiswal said he completely enjoyed the right-hander’s company. “It (partnership with Gill) was really amazing, he batted really well. I want to thank everyone coming here and supporting us,” he added.
Hardik Praise For Jaiswal-Gill
Meanwhile, India captain Hardik Pandya was all praise for Jaiswal and Gill for the way they batted. “Shubman and Yashasvi were brilliant. The way they ran in this heat … and … making sure they finished the job, it was very pleasing to see,” Hardik said.
Earlier, an outstanding bowling effort led by Arshdeep Singh helped India pin down West Indies to a total that was underwhelming considering a pitch that offered true bounce and little turn.
Baring Shimron Hetmyer (61) and Shai Hope (45), none of the West Indies batters lived up to the expectation and capitalise on an excellent chance to put on board a bigger total. In fact, the hosts did not manage even a single fifty stand in their innings.
The West Indies essay revolved around two partnerships – a 49 for the fifth wicket between Hope and Hetmyer and then a 47 for the eighth wicket between Hetmyer and Odean Smith. Arshdeep (3/38) and Kuldeep Yadav (2/26) kept the West Indies batting unit on a tight leash.
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