IND vs WI 2022, 2nd T20I: Who won yesterday’s India vs West Indies match?

West Indies beat India by five wickets in Monday's (August 1) T20I match in St Kitts to level the five-game series at 1-1. Obed McCoy’s record figures of six for 17 restricted the Men in Blue to 138 after West Indies won the toss and bowled first. Brandon King (68 off 52) and Devon Thomas (31* off 19) then played key knocks to lift the Windies to victory in 19.2 overs.

Chasing 139 for victory, West Indies got off to a solid start, ending the powerplay at 46 for no loss. King was the aggressor in the partnership even as Kyle Mayers struggled for rhythm. King found boundaries with ease before taking on Ravichandran Ashwin in the last over of the powerplay. After slog-sweeping the off-spinner for four, he launched the next delivery over the bowler’s head for a maximum.

Hardik Pandya struck immediately after the powerplay as Mayers (eight off 14) was caught on the boundary off a flick over fine leg. Windies skipper Nicholas Pooran announced his intentions loudly by pulling Avesh Khan for a maximum with authority. However, he gave his wicket away to Ashwin for 14. The left-hander was caught at long-on following a failed attempt at a big hit.

Shimron Hetmyer had a lucky escape as a nick off Pandya bounced right in front of the keeper. At the other end, King reached a 39-ball 50 with a single off Ashwin to long-on. Ravindra Jadeja kept India in the hunt, ending Hetmyer’s scratchy innings for six. The West Indies left-hander dragged a good length ball back to the bowler, who took a sharp low catch.

King kept West Indies ahead in the contest and even slapped Avesh Khan for a six with disdain. However, the pacer exacted revenge off the very next ball. The set batter backed away to make room, only for his stumps to be rattled by a superb yorker.

Thomas struggled for most of his innings. But with the pressure building, he slammed Pandya for a six over deep midwicket in the 18th over. West Indies needed 16 off the last two overs. Arshdeep Singh cleaned up Rovman Powell (five) with a quick delivery and bowled a good penultimate over.

West Indies needed 10 off the last over bowled by Avesh. The inexperienced pacer overstepped on the first delivery and also conceded a single. Thomas slapped the free-hit ball, which was short and wide, over deep extra cover for a maximum. The next ball raced past point for four as the hosts completed a memorable win.

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McCoy sizzles as West Indies bundle out India for 138

Left-arm seamer McCoy (6/17) registered the best bowling figures for West Indies in men's T20I cricket as Team India were bowled out for 138 in 19.4 overs. McCoy never allowed Team India to settle into any kind of rhythm. He dismissed the Indian openers cheaply and returned to dislodge the lower order.

After a three-hour delay due to some luggage issues, McCoy got the hosts off to the perfect start, sending Indian skipper Rohit Sharma back for a golden duck. The left-arm seamer got one to bounce awkwardly outside off-stump and Rohit could only fend the ball to short third man off the shoulder of the bat.

Suryakumar Yadav’s (11) poor run with the willow continued as he played a nothing shot outside the off-stump and nicked a delivery from McCoy to the keeper. Shreyas Iyer (10) yet again perished to the short ball. Alzarri Joseph got one to bounce a little extra outside off-stump and Shreyas obliged by presenting a simple catch behind the wickets.

India ended the powerplay in big trouble at 56 for three, but things were only about to get worse. Rishabh Pant (24 off 12), who had managed a couple of big hits, also fell without making a significant contribution. He casually walked down the track to left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and slashed a full and wide delivery straight to deep midwicket.

Amid the carnage, Pandya compiled a run-a-ball 31. However, he fell just when India needed him to carry on. The all-rounder smashed a pull off Jason Holder to deep midwicket. Pandya’s dismissal saw India lose half their side for 104 in the 14th over.

There was no rescue act from the lower-order as McCoy returned to run through the Indian batting. Jadeja made a patient 27 before he was caught at long on, failing to get any timing on a slower ball from McCoy.

Dinesh Karthik (seven) and Ashwin (10) perished in the penultimate over as McCoy completed a well-deserved five-fer. Karthik’s paddle-pull found the fielder while Ashwin was caught at deep backward point.

The great day became extra special for McCoy as he ended with a six-fer. The pacer sent Bhuvneshwar Kumar (one) back with a length ball that shaped away. There was not much excitement as the ball went past the bat. However, West Indies went for a review and replays showed that the batter had nicked the ball. The Indian innings came to a close when Holder yorked Avesh (eight).

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India vs West Indies 2022: Who was Player of the Match in 2nd T20I?

McCoy stood out for West Indies with his six-fer, extracting plenty of purchase from the surface. King set up the chase with a blazing half-century before Thomas did an excellent finishing job.

For India, all-rounder Pandya top-scored with 31 and ended with economical bowling figures of one for 22.

McCoy was the straightforward choice for the 'Player of the Match' award for his stupendous bowling effort.