India vs West Indies Highlights, 2nd T20I at Kolkata, Full Cricket Score: Hosts clinch series with thrilling 8-run win

How good has Rohit’s captaincy been so far!

One more series win by team India. Nicely led by Rohit. Bowling with wet ball and defending total was most satisfying for me. #INDvWI

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) February 18, 2022

Not the best of runs for the two-time T20 world champions

This is the first time West Indies lost 3 consecutive away T20I bilateral series.

Lost 0-2 v NZ
Lost 0-3 v PAK
Lost 0-2 v IND (so far)#INDvWI

— Kausthub Gudipati (@kaustats) February 18, 2022

Absolutely breathtaking from Powell today!

Another game where there were far more positives than negatives for West Indies. The way Rovman is striking the ball right now is ridiculous. The talent is there in this squad.

— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) February 18, 2022

After 20 overs,West Indies 178/3 ( Rovman Powell 68 , Kieron Pollard (C) 3)

Harshal bowls out the final over, with West Indies needing 25. Powell and Pollard collect a single each in the first two, leaving WI needing 23 off the last four. Powell then brings the Windies back in the game with back-to-back sixes, smashing the ball over long on and over deep midwicket! Superb comeback by Patel in the fifth as he restricts Powell to a single with slower ball, leaving West Indies an improbable 10 off the final delivery. Pollard collects a single off the last ball, and that’s the game!

India win by 8 runs and clinch the three-match T20I series with a game to spare!

OUT! Bhuvneshwar revives India’s hopes as he gets rid of Pooran in the penultimate over! Lovely use of the slower ball, the off-cutter inducing a thick leading edge as Pooran went for another wild heave. Bishnoi makes no mistake at wide mid off this time. WI 159/3

Pooran c Bishnoi b Bhuvneshwar 62(41)

After 18 overs,West Indies 158/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 62 , Rovman Powell 51)

Harshal does well to restrict Pooran and Powell to singles in the first five deliveries, with Powell completing a 28-ball fifty in the second delivery, before Pooran ends the over with a boundary after he pulls a short ball towards the midwicket fence. Eight from the over. West Indies need 29 off the last two. India need one good over from here.

After 17 overs,West Indies 150/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 56 , Rovman Powell 49)

Chahar returns for his final over. Single off each of the first two balls. SIX! Powell pulls a short ball into the stands beyond cow corner, moving to 48 with his third six of the innings, and follows it up with a single after steering the ball down the ground. Pooran then brings up his fifty — his second in as many games — with a slog over the long leg fence off the penultimate delivery, taking just 34 balls to get to the milestone. 16 off Chahar’s final over, as he finishes wicketless after conceding 40 from four. West Indies need 37 off 18.

After 16 overs,West Indies 134/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 48 , Rovman Powell 41)

Bhuvneshwar’s back, and he’s off to a tidy start, with a dot and two singles in the first three balls, before Powell smashes the ball down the ground in the fourth. There was a man stationed at long off, but there was little he could do as the ball blazed down the ground. DROPPED! Bhuvi fumbles and puts down a return catch after Powell gets a thick leading edge off a short, wide delivery. Rohit kicks the ball in frustration, and that could prove very expensive for the hosts. 10 from the over. West Indies need 53 from the last four overs.

After 15 overs,West Indies 124/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 47 , Rovman Powell 33)

Bishnoi’s expensive in his final over as he gets smacked for two boundaries, Pooran and Powell collecting one each with the former three short of his half-century at the end of the over. 11 from the over, as the young leggie signs off with 1/30 in his second international outing. West Indies need another 63 off 30.

After 14 overs,West Indies 113/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 42 , Rovman Powell 27)

Harshal Patel returns in the following over, conceding 10 from the over including a boundary off the fourth delivery that brings up the fifty stand for the third wicket. West Indies need another 74 off 36, which could be a cakewalk for the West Indians given the kind of firepower they possess.

After 13 overs,West Indies 103/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 40 , Rovman Powell 21)

Bishnoi concedes two wides in the second delivery, before Powell gets down on one knee and smokes the ball over long off to collect his second six in as many overs, bringing up the 100 in the process. Single off each of the last three balls of the over, with 12 coming off Bishnoi’s third.

After 12 overs,West Indies 91/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 38 , Rovman Powell 13)

FOUR! Muscled through the midwicket region by Pooran, who moves to 37 in the process, at the start of the over. Not the ideal start to Chahar’s new spell after Rohit decides to bring him back. Appeal for LBW two balls later is turned down, and the Indians decide against reviewing it. SIX! Powell hooks a short ball over square leg, and the ball lands on the advertising cushion. That was hit clean as a whistle, and the amount of power in that shot is something you’d associate with the Caribbean batters in the shortest format. 12 from the over, with Powell collecting a single off the last ball.

After 11 overs,West Indies 79/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 33 , Rovman Powell 6)

Bishnoi continues on the other side of the drinks interval, and keeps it tight with just six coming from the over. Asking rate’s 12 at the end of this over, and that will be a cause for worry for the visitors.

After 10 overs,West Indies 73/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 29 , Rovman Powell 5)

DROPPED! Bishnoi puts down a tough chance at deep midwicket after putting in a slide after Pooran barely got any timing in his attempted slog off Chahal, collecting a single after the reprieve. Pooran attempts a similar shot two balls later and this time absolutely muscles it, as the ball lands in the stands beyond deep midwicket. Rovman Powell too nails a sweep two balls later to collect his first boundary. Big over for the visitors, with 14 coming off it, as they reach 73/2 at the halfway stage, needing another 114 off 60 with eight wickets in hand. Time for the players to enjoy a drink now.

After 9 overs,West Indies 60/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 21 , Rovman Powell 0)

Outstanding start to Bishnoi’s spell as he removes King in his third delivery of the evening, getting caught at long on to depart for 22. Roman Powell walks in next, and gets off the mark with a single right away. Just one from the over along with the wicket.

OUT! Bishnoi continues to impress in his debut series, this time breaking the second-wicket stand in his third delivery of the evening as King ends up mishitting while looking to smash the ball out of the park. Suryakumar Yadav settles under the ball and collects a sitter in front of the long on fence. WI 59/2

King c SK Yadav b Bishnoi 22(30)

After 8 overs,West Indies 59/1 ( Brandon King 22 , Nicholas Pooran (W) 20)

Good over from Chahal, giving away five from it including a wide in the penultimate delivery. Pooran, meanwhile, has raced to 20 in just 11 balls and he’ll be the man to keep an eye out for as far as the Indian bowlers are concerned.

After 7 overs,West Indies 54/1 ( Brandon King 20 , Nicholas Pooran (W) 18)

Rough start for Harshal Patel after he’s introduced in this over as Pooran smashes a six and a four off the first two balls of this over. Single off the next two followed by a dot. Pooran retains the strike with a single off the last ball.

After 6 overs,West Indies 41/1 ( Brandon King 19 , Nicholas Pooran (W) 6)

Chahal strikes at the start of this over, inducing a thick leading edge to collect an easy enough return catch as Mayers departs for 9. The leg-spinner successfully appeals for caught-behind against King five balls later, the umpire late in raising his finger, though the batter goes for the review and gets the decision overturned as UltraEdge shows nothing. Seven runs from the over along with the wicket. West Indies reach 41/1 at the end of the powerplay.

OUT! Chahal with the breakthrough! Mayers departs for 9 after getting a thick leading edge while looking to muscle the ball over the mid on region. Lobs the ball high in the air, and Chahal has to take a few steps to the right to complete an easy enough catch. WI 34/1

Mayers c and b Chahal 9(10)

After 5 overs,West Indies 34/0 ( Brandon King 18 , Kyle Mayers 9)

Turns out to be a change of ends for Chahar as he bowls from the High Court End this time. FOUR! King collects his third boundary with a miscued slog down the ground, the ball landing just beyond Venkatesh Iyer’s reach after he runs backwards from mid on. King nearly pulls straight to Rohit at short midwicket two balls later; it was the lack of timing on the shot that saved him. Swing-and-miss in the last delivery. Six from the over.

After 4 overs,West Indies 28/0 ( Brandon King 13 , Kyle Mayers 8)

Spin introduced in the fourth over as Yuzvendra Chahal replaces Deepak Chahar. He’s off to a tidy start, conceding six off his first including a wide off the penultimate delivery. Steady start for the Windies so far.

After 3 overs,West Indies 22/0 ( Brandon King 10 , Kyle Mayers 6)

Another over that is tidy until a boundary is collected in the final over. This time it’s Mayer who helps himself to his first four with a lovely cover drive off Bhuvneshwar in the final delivery. Eight from the over.

After 2 overs,West Indies 14/0 ( Brandon King 7 , Kyle Mayers 1)

Deepak Chahar shares the new ball, and he starts off with back-to-back dots. Chahar concedes just two singles in the first five deliveries before King ends the over with the first boundary of the innings, drilling the ball down the ground past mid off. Six from the second over.

After 1 over,West Indies 8/0 ( Brandon King 2 , Kyle Mayers 0)

Bhuvneshwar bowls what would have been a good first over had it not been for a full delivery moving away from the left hander that beats keeper Pant and runs away for five wides in the fourth delivery. Eight from the first over.

After 20 overs,India 186/5 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 52 , Harshal Patel 1)

Romario Shepherd bowls the final over, and starts off on a tidy note with a couple of singles, before conceding a wide off the third. BOWLED! Shepherd gets rid of Venkatesh Iyer with a well-aimed yorker, which uproots the off stump that also brings a terrific fifth-wicket stand to an end. New batter Harshal Patel gets off the mark with a single first ball. Pant collects a brace off the fifth delivery to bring up his half-century, before collecting a single off the last ball.

India post 186/5 after being asked to bat, and the West Indies batters have a challenging task on hand if they are to keep their series hopes alive. What will aid their cause will be the dew that has started to appear by now.

BOWLED! Shepherd gets rid of Venkatesh with a pinpoint yorker, uprooting the off stump in the third delivery of the final over as the 76-run fifth wicket stand finally comes to an end! IND 182/5

V Iyer b Shepherd 33(18)

After 19 overs,India 179/4 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 48 , Venkatesh Iyer 32)

Jason Holder bowls the penultimate over. Pant moves into the 40s with a mighty hit over the midwicket fence first ball. Single off each of the next two, before Pant a full delivery going down leg past the keeper to move to 48. A bye, wide and a single follow with 15 coming from the over. One more over to go.

After 18 overs,India 164/4 ( Rishabh Pant (W) 37 , Venkatesh Iyer 30)

The Pant-Iyer partnership goes past the 50-mark in this over, the latter bringing up the milestone with a treble in the second delivery of this over. Romario Shepherd, who had conceded 15 in his first over and has been brought back in the slog overs, concedes 12 off his second. Both batters are fairly well set in the 30s and will hope to get their side as close to 200 as possible.