The West Indies have ended a six-year losing streak by defeating India by eight wickets in the fifth and final Twenty20 International (T20I) in Florida on Sunday to win the five-match series in impressive fashion.
Brandon King (85*) and Player of the Series Nicholas Pooran (47) were the standouts as the West Indies chased down India’s total of 165/9 with two overs remaining to secure a 3-2 series victory.
It was the West Indies’ first T20I series victory over India since 2017, and India’s first T20I series loss in more than two years. The loss ended India’s trend of 12 successive unbeaten bilateral series.
It was a timely result for the West Indies, who failed to qualify for this year’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in India and will instead co-host the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup with the United States in 2019.
After the victory, the West Indies locker room was filled with jubilation, and captain Rovman Powell reported that the players were pleased with their performance.
“It’s difficult to put words to it. Adjectives are inadequate in describing how we feel. The guys are elated. It’s a big series. You mention all the stuff that is going on in West Indies cricket, so it’s a very big series for us to beat India at home,” Powell said.
While India was disappointed to lose the series, they can take some consolation in the fact that they gave a number of new players a chance during the five games and unearthed a few players with promising futures.
Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma were among India’s top run scorers in the T20I portion of the series, while right-arm pacer Mukesh Kumar occasionally bowled well during the Caribbean tour.
India coach Rahul Dravid knows there will continue to be fluctuations of form for his side should the less experienced players be persisted with.
“We did well to come from 0-2 down, but we just couldn’t close out the series today,” Dravid said.
“We made a few mistakes along the way if you look at the five games, but that can happen.
“It is a young team and a developing team so there are going to be times when we have our ups and downs.
“Of course, we are disappointed…credit to the West Indies as they are a good T20 side and playing in their home conditions they play particularly well.”
