Poor fielding cost the hosts Indian team to lose the second T20I of the three-match series against Windies at Greenfield International Stadium (Thiruvananthapuram) on Sunday (8th December) night.
After winning the toss, Windies captain Kieron Pollard decided to field first. While they restricted India for 170/7 (20 overs) in the first innings, Windies chased down that target in 18.3 overs after losing just two wickets (173/2).
Windies openers got a good start after the hosts dropped two early opportunities
In the early second innings, Indian fielders dropped two catches in the single over. During the fifth over of that innings, when Bhuvneshwar Kumar was bowling, Washington Sundar dropped the opening batsman Lendl Simmons at mid-off. In that same over, wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant dropped another opening batsman Evin Lewis behind the stumps. Those mistakes were too costly for the hosts.
With the help of those mistakes, Windies openers Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis put the 73 runs partnership for the first wicket. After Lewis was dismissed on 40 runs off 35 balls (3 fours and 3 sixes), Simmons calmly guided the visitors to the victory. Simmons remained not out on 67 runs off 45 balls (4 fours and 4 sixes). Shimron Hetmyer scored 23 runs while Nicholas Pooran was not out on 38 runs off 18 balls (4 fours and 2 sixes).
Among the Indian bowlers, only Washington Sundar (1/26) and Ravindra Jadeja (1/22) managed to open their wicket columns. Indian captain Virat Kohli took a fabulous catch at the boundary line to dismiss Hetmyer, and it was the only shining moment for India during that second innings.
Only Shivam Dube and Rishabh Pant reached the 20-run mark during the Indian innings
Most of the Indian batsmen struggled to score good runs on that night. Both the Indian openers Rohit Sharma (15) and KL Rahul (11) failed to provide the strong starts. Shivam Dube was promoted to the no.3 batting position, and he impressed with his batting performance as he scored his maiden international half-century. After scoring 54 runs off 30 balls (3 fours and 4 sixes), Dube lost his wicket.
On that night, Indian captain Virat Kohli (2,563 runs) regained the top position in the table of most T20I run-scorer but failed to stretch that lead from Rohit Sharma (2,562 runs) as he is just one run ahead of Rohit. After scoring 19 runs, Kohli was caught out at the short third man as Kesrick Williams registered his first wicket of that match.
After Kohli’s dismissal, the other Indian batsmen were losing their wickets at regular intervals. However, Rishabh Pant tried hard and played a crucial knock of unbeaten 33 runs off 22 balls (3 fours and only six), but it wasn’t enough for the hosts.
Among the Caribbean bowlers, Kesrick Williams (2/30) and Hayden Walsh (2/28) bagged two wickets each.
Teams’ innings scenario
| Team | India | Windies |
| Total | 170/7 (20 overs) | 173/2 (18.3 overs) |
| Dots | 44 | 44 |
| 1s | 48 | 38 |
| 2s | 13 | 7 |
| 3s | 0 | 0 |
| 4s | 12 | 11 |
| 6s | 5 | 12 |
| Extras | 18 (13 wides, 3 leg-byes and 2 no-balls) | 5 (4 wides, 1 no-ball) |
After this victory, this series is now level by the 1-1 margin with one game to go. On last Friday (6th December) night, India won the first T20I of this series by six wickets with eight balls remaining. They will play the series decider on 11th December at Wankhede Stadium (Mumbai).