India vs West Indies: India won the fourth T20 by 9 wickets to level the series by 2-2 in Florida.
Indian young openers shine in the third T20 between India and West Indies and helped India to win the match comfortably with 9 wickets. They made sure that India stays alive in the series as they scored the joint-highest opening stand for India of 165 in just 5.3 overs leaving West Indies bowlers clueless.
It was a do-or-die match for India as they were already trailing by 2-1 in the series. India had to win the match to stay alive in the series and openers Shubhman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal made it so easy for the team. And moreover, they did what no other team had done in the last 15 matches, no one has chased the target of more than 95 in Florida.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, one of the most talented players we have seen in recent times scored a masterclass knock of 84 off just 51 balls in just the second T20 International match bagging the Player of the Match award. Shubhman Gill, on the other hand, was having a rough series but played a class innings in the fourth T20 and made sure India face no more hiccups in the series.
Highlights of the Fourth T20 Between India and West Indies
Winning the toss, the Windies captain decided to bat first on the flat surface of Florida and made three changes in their squad, bringing Shai Hope, Jason Holder, and Odean Smith. Kyle Mayers gave a flying start to West Indies in the first over until Arshdeep Singh sent him off with a quick short ball. Brandon King and Shai hope to put together some quick runs in the powerplay.
West Indies lost their momentum when Arshdeep got out Brandon King and Kuldeep Yadav took two wickets in the next and his first over. Kuldeep got out two most dangerous and in-form batters of the Windies, Nicholas Pooran and captain Rovman Powell. The batting responsibility of the team was fulfilled by Shimron Hetmeyer who scored 39 balls and 61 runs and helped the team to reach to score a total of 178 which eventually wasn’t enough on the flat pitch of Florida.
On the other hand, India got off to a flying start with openers, Yashasvi Jaiswal scoring quick boundaries whereas Shubhman Gill took his time initially and got set eventually. Indian openers scored the joint-highest opening partnership in T20i. Previously, only Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul had a record of 165 runs opening stand. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill replied to every question asked by West Indies bowlers and scored 84 and 77 respectively. They managed to get Shubhman Gill out but it was too late for them.
The Future Openers of Indian Team: Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubhman Gill
There is no doubt that Shubhman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal are the future superstars of the Indian Cricket Team. India was desperately in search of a young opening left-hand-right-hand combination and they surely have found one.
Yashasvi Jaiswal has played in Indian Jersey just four times and won Player of the Match awards in two of them. This shows the quality and consistency of a player. Former Indian player Robin Uthappa said, “Yashasvi Jaiswal is a very hardworking player, once I saw him practising Switch-hits 800 times in a single day.”
Shubhman Gill, on the other hand, is no doubt a superstar in all three formats. Once he gets going he can take away match from opponents with class and amazing temperament. The future of Indian cricket is indeed in very great hands.
