IND vs WI T20 Man of the Match: The debutant Indian spinner won the match award in his first-ever international match tonight.
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During the first T20I of the ongoing West Indies’ tour of India in Kolkata, India beat West Indies by 6 wickets to extend their unbeaten streak at home this year.
Chasing a mediocre 158-run target, it wasn’t the most swiftest of chases for the hosts but a match-winning 48-run partnership for the fifth wicket between batter Suryakumar Yadav (34*) and all-rounder Venkatesh Iyer (24*) bailed the team out of trouble.
Having hit seven fours and two sixes between them, Yadav and Iyer batted at respective strike rates of 188.88 and 184.61 to seal the chase in the penultimate over. The manner in which the duo batted, without any taking pressure at a time when India lost three quick wickets in the middle overs was highly commendable.
Opening the batting with Ishan Kishan (35), India captain Rohit Sharma top-scored for the team as his 40 (19) comprising of four fours and three sixes provided India with a quickfire start.
IND vs WI T20 Man of the Match today
It was Sharma who had won the toss and chose to field earlier in the evening. Barring wicket-keeper batter Nicholas Pooran scoring an eye-catching 61 (43) with the help of four fours and five sixes, no other West Indian batter managed to dominate the Indian bowlers at the Eden Gardens.
Introduced into the attack in the eighth over, debutant spinner Ravi Bishnoi was the pick of the Indian bowlers with figures of 4-0-17-2. It was in his second over that Bishnoi sent back Roston Chase (4) and Rovman Powell (2) to dent the opposition. While Chase was found wanting in front of the stumps, Powell’s attempt of playing a big shot led to him hitting a ball straight to the long-on fielder.
Leaving aside six wide deliveries that he bowled in his four-over spell tonight, 21-year old Bishnoi never looked like playing his first international match. From finding right lengths to beating the batters, Bishnoi was a deserving candidate of the Man of the Match award.
“The nerves are settled now [smiles]. I was feeling very good. It’s everyone’s dream to play for India and I was feeling good. West Indies is one of the best T20 teams and I got the chance to play against them. I’ll try to cut down the wides next match. My strength is my length,” Bishnoi told Star Sports during the post-match presentation ceremony.
