India won the T20I series 3-0 against West Indies as the Men in Blue outclassed Windies by seven wickets in the third T20I.
India chased down the target of 147 with five balls to spare with Rishabh Pant and Virat Kohli scoring half-centuries. Pant, who had failed to score big in first two matches of the series, finally got some runs and finished the match with an unbeaten knock of 65.
In the chase, India lost opener Shikhar Dhawan (3) in the second over of the innings as he was sent back by Oshane Thomas. KL Rahul fell soon as he was foxed by Fabian Allen to reduce India to 27/2 in the fifth over.
Skipper Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant retrieved the innings for the Men in Blue as the duo put up a stand of 106 runs, which saw both batsmen bring up their respective half-centuries. Both batsmen mixed caution with aggression, but Kohli (59) was dismissed in the 18th over by Thomas. In the end, Pant and Manish Pandey ensured India's victory by seven wickets and with five balls to spare.
Earlier, Kieron Pollard's knock of 58 runs from 45 balls allowed West Indies to post 146 runs for the loss of six wickets in the allotted twenty overs after being asked to bat first.
Pant's innings also added couple of records to his name including one overtaking MS Dhoni.
1. Rishabh Pant overtakes MS Dhoni
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Rishabh Pant's 65 is now the highest score by an Indian wicketkeeper in T20I cricket. The previous highest was 56 scored by MS Dhoni against England in 2017 at Bengaluru. Rishabh Pant also became the first Indian batsman to register two T20I half-centuries before turning 22. (Image: AFP)
2. Deepak Chahar bowls lethal spell
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Deepak Chahar was declared the player of the match for his figures of 3-1-4-3. This is now the second-most economical bowling (1.33 runs per over) in T20Is in which a bowler had bowled a minimum three overs. These are the most economical figures by an Indian bowler when taking three wickets in a T20I. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Chahar's new-ball partner for match, holds the record of the most economical spell (1 run per over) in T20Is for India. Bhuvneshwar gave just three runs in three overs against West Indies in 2014. (Image: AFP)
3. West Indies suffer sixth consecutive loss vs India in T20Is
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This was India's sixth consecutive win against West Indies in T20I cricket. They surpassed Pakistan record of having beaten the Windies in five consecutive T20Is. (Image: AFP)
4. India regiester 4th clean sweep in T20I cricket
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With the win, India registered their fourth clean sweep by 3-0 in T20Is. The other three have come against Australia in Australia in 2015-16, Sri Lanka in India in 2017-18 and West Indies in India in 2018-19. (Image: AFP)
5. Virat Kohli: Boss of toss
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Virat Kohli has now become the first Indian skipper to win all three tosses in a bilateral T20I series. (Image: AFP)
