Scores: West Indies 245 for 6 (Lewis 100, Charles 79) beat India 244 for 4 (Rahul 110*, Rohit 62, Bravo 2-37) by 1 run
Cricket’s shortest format was meant to be fast and exciting but today’s encounter between India and West Indies left many looking for newer adjectives. It was not a cricket match but a thrilling bollywood potboiler. The 1st T20 match of the series between India and West Indies witnessed shattering of records at the speed of Usain Bolt. Finally the Windies won unexpectedly by 1 run, riding on a magical last over by Dwayne Bravo.
India won the toss and invited West Indies to bat first. The T20 world champions were without their captain Darren Sammy as Carlos Braitwaite made debut as the new Windies Skipper. Chris Gayle sat out due to injury as Evin Lewis replaced him. The Indian team`s joy of not having to bowl at Gayle was short-lived as Lewis along with fellow opener Johnson Charles thrashed the Indian bowlers all over the ground. Lewis proved equally lethal as the man he replaced as he almost equalled Gayle’s record of fastest century for West Indies in T20s. Lewis completed his ton in just 48 balls failing to equal Gayle’s record by just one ball. Charles on the other end ran havoc with a whirlwind 79 off just 33 balls, hitting 7 sixes. Lewis hit 9 sixes in his innings. The opening partnership smashed away 126 runs in just 9.3 overs. Shami bowled Charles out to end the partnership. New man in was the superman, Andre Russel and he did exactly what is expected of him. Russel played a fiery cameo of 22 runs in just 12 balls to push the Windies innings further ahead. He added 76 runs with Evin Lewis in just 6 overs to launch the West Indies score towards the right side of 250. West Indies were looking good to make the record for the highest team total in a T20 but a spirited death bowling effort from India kept them to 245 for 6 in 20 overs. This was the 3rd all time highest score by any team in T20s. In all, West Indies hit 21 sixes in the innings which again is a record for T20s.
India were set a near impossible target of 246 but as the saying goes, nothing is impossible, especially in cricket. India came out blazing as they reached 30 inside 3 overs but then the wicket of Rahane pushed them back a little. New man Virat Kohli came out aggressive but went back quickly after scoring a fluent 16 off just 9 balls. This was the point where Indian fans would have made there mind that the result was not going to be in their favour as KL Rahul walked into bat at No. 4. Rohit Sharma was scoring with utter ease at the other end but the way Rahul began hitting from ball one fused a new life into the Indian innings. The duo smacked all West Indian bowlers out of the park as they easily managed to maintain the run rate at or around the required rate of 12 runs an over. Rohit Sharma was clearing the boundaries with his usual ease but Rahul’s exploits were a pleasant surprise to the viewers. Those who have followed Rahul from this year’s IPL onwards knew he was in very good form but even they were surprised at the speed he was going today. Sharma holed out at the mid wicket boundary trying to go for his 5th maximum for 62 runs off just 28 balls. Before getting out Rohit had put on 89 runs with KL Rahul in just 7.1 overs laying a perfect foundation for a fitting Indian reply. Rahul went on and on as he went past Lewis and Gayle to equal the record for the 2nd fastest T20 century ever. Dhoni came in at No. 5 and looked completely at home as he kept getting boundaries when required. The match was almost in India’s pocket at the end of the 19th over. India now required just 8 runs off the last over with 7 wickets in hand. It was supposed to be a cakewalk looking back at the match situation but funnier things have happened in cricket. Bravo induced an edge from Dhoni on the first ball but Marlon Samuels made complete mockery of a simple catch at short third man as Dhoni got a reprieve and a single. Bravo gave away just 5 runs in the next 4 deliveries to bring the equation down to 2 needed off 1 ball. Rahul was at the non strikers end at 110 not out from 51 balls while striker Dhoni was playing on 43 from just 24 balls to suggest that an Indian win was the most favourite option and if not then a single would lead to a tie. What no one thought happened as Bravo produced an exact replay of the first ball of the over, the only difference being that Samuels did not drop this one. India were short of the West Indies score by 1 run in the end and that was all that mattered. Indian team was expectedly shocked but cricket fans were not surprised knowing the skills of Dwayne Bravo.
By the end of the match, India were the team with the 4th highest team total ever in T20s right behind West Indies score in the same match. A total of 489 runs scored in T20 match, again a feat achieved for the first time.
India and West Indies both played ideal T20 cricket on a true surface in Florida. West Indies came out the better team today and India would like to change that in the 2nd and the final game to be played tomorrow.