King, Shepherd help WI seal series

Lauderhill (US), August 13

The Indian batters fluffed their lines when it mattered most as a determined West Indies handed captain Hardik Pandya his first bilateral series defeat after winning the fifth and final T20 International by eight wickets here today.

West Indies won the five-match series 3-2 with opener Brandon King’s swashbuckling 85 not out off 55 balls paving the way for a 18-over cakewalk.

All these games are the games where we have to learn. We have spoken as a group that whenever we can take the hard way we will. In hindsight, one series here or there doesn’t matter but the commitment to the goal is important. —Hardik Pandya, india captain

Within 24 hours of producing a batting masterclass on a featherbed, the Indian batters, save Suryakumar Yadav’s scratchy yet effective 61 off 45 balls, posted a sub-par score of 165/9 after opting to bat on a used track that had become slower.

In reply, India’s nemesis Nicholas Pooran (47 not out off 35 balls) looked way more fluent but was overshadowed by opener King as they added 107 runs for the second wicket to put West Indies on course despite three weather related interruptions.

Brief scores: India: 165/9 (Suryakumar 61, Tilak 27; Shepherd 4/31); West Indies: 171/2 in 18 overs (King 85*, Pooran 47; Tilak 1/17).