On This Day, August 6, 2023: West Indies beat India by two wickets and go 2-0 up in the T20I series. The match was at Providence Stadium, Guyana. India won the toss and chose to bat first. They never really got going as early wickets left them scrambling. Tilak Varma held the innings together with a calm 51 off 41. Ishan Kishan made 27 and Hardik Pandya chipped in with a brisk 24, but the West Indies bowlers were excellent with Shepherd, Hosein and Joseph in particular chipping away. India limped to 152 for 7 at the end of the first innings.
West Indies' chase looked straightforward while Nicholas Pooran was batting. He smashed 67 off just 40 balls and for a long stretch West Indies were coasting. Then India fought back as Hardik took three wickets, Chahal grabbed two, and suddenly the home side were four down for three runs in a short, messy period. What had looked like a comfortable win turned into a proper scrap.
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In the end Hosein and Alzarri Joseph played brilliantly to stitch a partnership. They got West Indies home with seven balls to spare 155 for 8 in 18.5 overs and the series lead became 2-0. India did fight back later in the series, winning the next two games to level it, but West Indies held their nerve in the decider and took the series 3-2. This was one of the memorable nights of that tour for the Caribbean side. Pooran’s knock and the late resistance from the lower order made sure they won a thrilling match.
