Men in Blue sink west Indies in first T20I as Bishnoi impresses on debut

What was supposed to be a cakewalk after a phenomenal start soon became murky in the middle of a tempestuous ocean only to be bailed out by a couple of phenomenal knocks, as India walked away with the bragging rights.

Venkatesh Iyer came out in blazing colours for the first time in the international arcade while Suryakumar Yadav steadied a wobbling ship to guide India home comfortably. On a turning Eden Gardens surface, Rohit Sharma won the toss and opted to bowl first.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar produced some early movement that ultimately caught Brandon King off guard while Suryakumar Yadav completed a comfortable take at the point. Kyle Mayers and Nicholas Pooran chipped in with resolute displays as the duo scored comfortably before Yuzvendra Chahal bested Kyle Mayers with a screamer.

The fall of Mayers triggered a collapse as Bishnoi dealt a double blow to bolster India’s grip on the game. Even though Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard put up a fine partnership towards the end, India’s control of the West Indian run-flow in the middle overs and some tight bowling from Harshal and Bhuvneshwar Kumar didn’t allow the Caribbean power-hitters to often find the ropes as they would have wanted.

Chasing 158, Rohit Sharma came out in his blazing incarnation as he whacked around Sheldon Cottrell and Romario Shephard at will. Ishan Kishan initially looked uncomfortable while dealing with the extra bounce that the surface offered and his connections with the cherry were often too far-stretched than convincing.

However, Rohit’s early blitzkrieg allowed India to score at almost 9 runs an over while a quick fall of wickets in the middle that saw Ishan and Kohli departing in quick succession, brought India to its knees. Rishabh Pant couldn’t find his stride either, a recurrent pattern for India throughout the ODI series. It was once again Suryakumar Yadav who came to the fore with a brilliant knock, starring a few exquisite strokes to stamp his class.

However, the man who sealed the game with a superlative illustration of aggression was Venkatesh Iyer. The southpaw smoked two boundaries and a six in his 13-ball-24 that helped India seal the fate of the contest with 7 balls to spare.

Debutant Ravi Bishnoi was adjudged as the man of the match, whose double whammy in the middle and four economical overs didn’t allow West Indies to free their arms.

India will be playing West Indies for the second time in the T20I series tomorrow as the Caribbean will be raring to level the series.