India won their first match of the series, after overcoming the West Indies total of 159-5 in their allotted 20 overs.
Suryakumar Yadav was the player-of-the-match, scoring 83 runs (44 balls) and leading his team to the victory.
Batting first, the West Indies got off to a good start, scoring 55 runs before losing their first wicket in the 8thover.
Opener Brandon King top scored for the Men in Maroon, hitting five fours and a six in a run-a-ball 42. Captain Rovman Powell (40 not out from 19) and Kyle Mayers (25 from 20) were the other notable contributors.
Kuldeep Yadav (3-28) was the standout with the ball for the India team, with Axar Patel (1-24) and Mukesh Kumar (1-19) picking up wickets for the visitors as well.
In an effort to defend the total, the West Indies picked up an early wicket in the debutant Yashasvi Jaiswal (1 from 2). Suryakumar played a variety of strokes in his brilliant knock, but Tilak Varma (49 from 37), the top run scorer in the series, saw the visitors home. Captain Hardik Pandya (20 from 15) was also there in the end.
Alzarri Joseph (2-25) picked up two wickets and Obed McCoy (1-32) picked up the other. India won within 17.5 overs.
In the post-match press conference, King said, “It was a difficult wicket to bat on. However, we thought we could go there and defend it. You must give credit to Sky (Suryakumar), he batted really well to put his team into a good position. We could have been a bit more consistent, but our bowlers have been great for us, so we don’t want to put too much pressure on them.”
The fourth and fifth T20I will be played at the Broward County Cricket Stadium in Florida on Saturday and Sunday, with matches starting at 10:30 am.
SOURCE: Cricket West Indies
