Dubbed as the battle between two of the most flamboyant T20 sides at the moment, the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Florida was geared up to witness a spectacle. And the batsmen on show gave them their money’s worth by plundering as many as 489 runs between them.
Launching a no-holds-barred attack, West Indies surged to a humongous total on a pitch which proved to be a nightmare for every type of bowler. Despite a spirited response, the Indians fell agonizingly short to lose the first T20I by a solitary run.
Let us analyze at what each player did in the riveting contest.
West Indies
Dwayne Bravo – 9.5
A game-changer in all departments, Bravo managed to secure victory from the jaws of defeat with a breathtaking final over. After snaring a catch out of nowhere, he went on to dismiss Virat Kohli and deny MS Dhoni at the death.
Evin Lewis – 9.5
Coming into the match, the left-hander had played only one international match with a seven-ball duck to his name. However, when the 24-year old was done today, he displayed his hitting prowess by tearing apart the Indian bowlers with a sparkling century at a staggering strike-rate of 204.08.
Johnson Charles – 9
Brutal and domineering, Charles flat-batted against anything the Indians came up with and provided a pulsating start to the innings. When he looked set to reach three figures, an attempt to tackle a Mohammed Shami yorker ended his high-impact 33-ball 79.
Kieron Pollard – 7
Capable of dispatching even good deliveries beyond the fence with minimal effort, Pollard hit a couple of lusty blows in his brief stay at the crease. But, he overshadowed some of the other front-line bowlers in the game with an adequate spell which included the wicket of Rohit Sharma.
Samuel Badree – 5
For someone who sits at the top of the rankings, Badree was given only a couple of overs before being taken out of the attack. However, the leg-spinner could not quite find his rhythm when confronted by eager batsmen.
Carlos Brathwaite – 5
Captaining West Indies for the first time in his career, Brathwaite was helped by his seniors during key moments on the field. But, he struggled to have much influence on the contest with either bat or ball.
Marlon Samuels – 4.5
Arriving at the crease just prior to the last ball, Samuels played an inexplicable defensive prod and remained content with a single. After dropping a sitter in the first ball of the final over, he did not repeat the same mistake with a high-pressure catch to seal the deal.
Andre Russell – 4.5
Offering a complete package in the shortest format, the all-rounder had a rather forgettable day at the office. Aside from a cameo with the bat, Russell dropped a straight-forward catch and gave away 53 runs from his full quota of overs.
Lendl Simmons – 4
Not having much to do, other than enjoying the action from the comforts of the dressing room, Simmons walked into the middle during the penultimate delivery of the innings and returned immediately without troubling the scorers.
Sunil Narine – 3.5
Usually a trustworthy customer at any stage of the innings, Narine suffered an uncharacteristic hammering to concede 50 runs from 3 overs with Rohit Sharma, in particular, taking full toll of him.
Andre Fletcher – DNB
With the top four doing the bulk of the damage, Fletcher was not required to bat at all. But, he did pouch a smart grab to get rid of the dangerous Kohli.
India
KL Rahul – 9.5
Rapidly settling into the side as a dependable all-formats batsman, Rahul threatened to snatch the game away from West Indies with a commendable effort. Getting into the groove right from the outset, the classy right-hander notched up his maiden T20I ton to set up a tense finish.
Rohit Sharma – 8
The onus was on the elegant Mumbaikar to replicate what the West Indies batsmen did at the top of the order. Though a couple of wickets fell fairly cheaply at the other end, Rohit kept going and produced a scintillating 28-ball 62. But, he would rue mistiming a juicy half-volley at a critical juncture of the game.
Ravichandran Ashwin – 8
Surprising everyone by bowling plenty of leg-spin in his first couple of overs, Ashwin looked like withering away in front of the relentless onslaught. However, he reiterated his class by conceding only twelve runs in the next two overs and brought sanity to the proceedings.
Ravindra Jadeja – 7
Acknowledging that desperate times called for desperate measures, Jadeja tried to metamorphose into a spin bowling version of Lasith Malinga and speared it in with a flat-arm action. Although he was plundered for 33 runs from his first two, the 27-year old prised out two key wickets for just six runs in his third over.
Mohammed Shami – 6.5
After a fruitful comeback from injury in the recently completed Test series, a lot was expected from Shami. However, the lopsidedness of modern-day limited-overs cricket towards bowling rendered him ineffective.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar – 6.5
Operating on a surface which did not offer anything to him whatsoever, Bhuvneshwar wanted to keep things simple but instead got carted to all parts. A concerted reliance on his handy yorkers might have yielded him better returns.
Jasprit Bumrah – 6.5
Having established himself already as one of India’s better limited-overs bowlers, Bumrah had to contend with a menacing batting outfit and could not do much to stem the leakage of runs.
MS Dhoni – 6
Deciding to bowl first on an unpredictable surface, Dhoni had his task cut out when the bowlers were disappearing everywhere. After forging a tidy partnership with Rahul, the experienced campaigner was however outwitted by Bravo and faltered at the final hurdle.
Virat Kohli – 4
Renowned as the contemporary master of chases, Kohli was up against a tall order and needed to bring his A-game. When it seemed like the top-ranked T20I batsman in the world had his eye in, he could not connect properly with a bouncer and gloved one to the wicket-keeper.
Ajinkya Rahane – 3
Asked to counter fire-with-fire, which was deviant from his classical method, Rahane did not seem too comfortable with the required run-rate and eventually got done in by a sensational catch from Bravo.
Stuart Binny – 0
Billed as an all-rounder, Binny bowled only one over and gave away a mind-boggling 32 runs from it. Neither possessing discernable pace nor control over his line, he was at the forefront of a never-ending horror show.
Admittedly the pitch was flat, but the seam bowler’s inability to chip in with a few decent overs may question his place in the side.
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