India hit back with seven-wicket win

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

West Indies were forced to delay their celebrations after India beat them convincingly by seven wickets in the third Twenty20 International yesterday, to extend the series into the Florida finale next weekend.

Needing a victory at the National Stadium in order to clinch an unassailable 3-0 lead in the five-match series, West Indies only mustered 159 for five from their 20 overs after choosing to bat, a target which India chased down with 13 balls to spare.

When left-arm seamer Obed McCoy got Yashasvi Jaiswal (1) to sky to Alzarri Joseph at mid-on with six runs on the board in the second over, West Indies appeared to be setting the stage for their first series win over India in nearly seven years.

However, the impressive Suryakumar Yadav took the game away from the home side with a brilliant 83 off 44 deliveries, before rookie 20-year-old Tilak Varma polished off the chase with a superb unbeaten 49 from just 37 balls.

"I think maybe we were 10, 15 runs short. It seems at the end it was a pretty good wicket," said captain Rovman Powell, who lashed a 19-ball unbeaten 40.

"Having said that, praise has to be given to the batting unit. I think the start that we got was something that we asked for. We just lost our way in the middle overs a little bit.

Brandon King top-scored with a run-a-ball 42 to inspire an opening stand of 55 with Kyle Mayers (25) before adding another 20 for the second wicket with Johnson Charles (12), and 30 with in-form left-hander Nicholas Pooran who blasted two fours and a six in a 12-ball 20.

When India started their innings Jaiswal's demise left West Indies with an open door and when speedster Joseph picked up the first of his two wickets by having Shubman Gill top-edging a pull to mid-wicket in the fifth over, India were stumbling on 34 for two.

Any fears of a collapse were put to rest, however, Suryakumar counter-attacking in an 87-run, third-wicket stand with Varma, to erase any hope of a West Indies win.

The 32-year-old right-hander smacked 10 fours and four sixes to race to his fifty off 23 balls with the second of two successive fours at the start of the eighth over from pacer Shepherd, while Varma struck four fours and a six.

Suryakumar eventually holed out to deep square off Joseph in the 13th over with triple figures in sight but Varma never wavered, dominating a 43-run, unbroken fourth wicket with Pandya to see India over the line.