India beat West Indies by 14 runs in Indore to take 2-1 lead in T20I series

India defeated West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series. India posted 223 all out and restricted West Indies to 209 for 7. The result broke a pattern in which every previous match on the tour, three ODIs and two T20Is, had been won by the side batting second.

Abhishek Sharma scored 69 off 30 balls with six fours and five sixes. He and Ishan Kishan added 108 runs off 40 deliveries after Sanju Samson fell early. Roston Chase then removed both Kishan and captain Shreyas Iyer in the ninth over. Abhishek was caught off Shamar Springer in the next over. India recovered enough through Tilak Varma and others to reach 223 on the final ball.

In the chase Arshdeep Singh bowled Shai Hope for 5 in the second over. Hope had made an unbeaten 102 in the previous match in Ranchi. Arshdeep later returned in the 18th over to dismiss Keemo Paul and Sherfane Rutherford, who had scored 32 off 20. Naman Dhir took two wickets. Shamar Springer hit 35 not out off 11 balls with four sixes at the end, but the target remained out of reach.

Arshdeep finished with 3 for 44 and was named player of the match. He said the ball reversed and that bowling at the death with reverse swing was enjoyable. Captain Shreyas Iyer said the bowlers showed clarity and confidence. Mayank Yadav completed his four overs, bowling consistently above 145 km/h.

The pitch was drier than the one in Ranchi two nights earlier, where West Indies chased 250. Boundaries at Holkar are short, yet neither side could hit through the line at will throughout. West Indies still scored 209, but the required rate climbed after the early wickets and the 18th-over double strike.

India can clinch the series in the fourth T20I at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, 14 October. The previous two T20Is were won by the chasing side, India by eight wickets in Lucknow and West Indies by five wickets in Ranchi. The Indore result is the first on the tour decided by the team that batted first.