It was yet another disappointing performance from the Indian team against West Indies in the second T20I match on Sunday. The hosts clinched their second successive win in the series to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series. This was the first time since 2016 when West Indies won two consecutive T20Is against India.
They registered a 2-wicket win, and it was another batting failure from the Indian team. The top order once again struggled, while one-match-old Tilak Varma played with maturity. He went on to register his maiden half-century in his second game.
It started with Indian captain Hardik Pandya winning the toss and electing to bat first. India lost Shubman Gill (7) and Suryakumar Yadav (1) early. Ishan Kishan also got out after scoring 27 off 23. At one end, India was losing wickets at regular intervals.
But the 20-year-old scored a 39-ball fifty when the other batters were struggling. But as soon as he got to his half-century, he was dismissed by Akeal Hosein. He made 51 runs off 41 balls, with five fours and one six. Even in the first game, he was India’s top scorer.
A special fifty 👍
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 6, 2023
A special celebration for someone special from the Rohit Sharma family ☺️#TeamIndia | #WIvIND | @ImRo45 | @TilakV9 pic.twitter.com/G7knVbziNI
With his half-century, the left-hander registered a special record to his name and went past Rishabh Pant. Varma became the second youngest Indian batter to register a T20I half-century at the age of 20 years and 271 days. He surpassed Pant’s feat of 21 years and 38 days.
Rohit Sharma held this record when he scored his maiden T20I fifty at the age of 20 years and 143 days. Batting first, India made a total of 152/7 in the first innings. India started well with the ball. Hardik took two wickets in the very first over. But Nicholas Pooran took his team to a winning position.
He added 67 runs with skipper Rovman Powell (21). India did pull the game back when they had three wickets in the 16th over by Chahal. But Akeal Hosein (16 off 10) and Alzarri Joseph (10 off 8) sealed the deal for the hosts.
