India vs West Indies: Jaiswal, Gill lead the way as Men in Blue crush Windies in Florida, take T20I series to decider

Four days after collecting a seven-wicket victory in Guyana to keep themselves afloat, Team India produced an even more clinical performance in Florida on Saturday to level the five-match T20I series against the West Indies 2-2.

Openers Yashasvi Jaiswal (84 not out) and Shubman Gill (77) led the way for the Men in Blue, slamming whirlwind half-centuries and stitching a mammoth 165-run opening stand as India chased down the 179-run target set by Windies with nine wickets and three overs to spare.

The victory at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium in Florida’s Lauderhill ensures the Hardik Pandya-led visitors take the five-match series to a decider, which will take place on Sunday at the same venue.

“ʙᴀᴛᴛɪɴɢ, ᴛᴜ ʙᴀʜᴏᴛ ᴄʜᴀɴɢᴇ ʜᴏɢᴀʏɪ ʜᴀɪ.”#WIvIND #INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode pic.twitter.com/FWm8rjacYN

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Earlier, middle-order batter Shimron Hetmyer bounced back to form with a 39-ball 61 and was ably assisted by Shai Hope (45) along the way as the West Indies posted what initially appeared to be a competitive total of 178/8 on the board after skipper Rovman Powell opted to bat.

The manner with which Jaiswal and Gill tore the Windies attack to shreds suggested the surface was a batting paradise where score of 200 would have been a par one, and that the hosts ultimately fell well short of it.

While left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was the pick of the Indian bowlers with 3/38, left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav once again made the most impact among the Indian bowlers. Kuldeep finished with figures of 2/26 after his game-changing haul of 3/28 in Guyana on Tuesday, dismissing in-form batters Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell in his first over to stifle the flow of runs for the Men in Maroon.

More to follow

Brief scores:

West Indies 178/8 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 61, Shai Hope 45; Arshdeep Singh 3/38, Kuldeep Yadav 2/26) lost to India 179/1 in 17 overs (Yashasvi Jaiswal 84 not out, Shubman Gill 77; Romario Shepherd 1/35) by nine wickets.