Abhishek Sharma smashed 69 off 30 balls, and India’s bowlers defended a total of 223 to beat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium on Sunday. The victory gave India a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

Arshdeep Singh claimed 3-44, while Naman Dhir picked up two wickets. Arshdeep dismissed the in-form Shai Hope, and India’s other bowlers contained the West Indies big-hitters to prevent them from completing another successful chase.

Shamar Springer’s explosive 11-ball 35 not out gave the visitors a late surge, but India held their nerve as West Indies finished at 209/7. The victory also marked the first win for a team batting first in the white-ball series. India had threatened to approach 250 after Abhishek’s 30-ball 69, but soft dismissals and running errors during the second half of their innings limited them to 223.

India began their defence with Mayank Yadav conceding just one run in the opening over. Arshdeep struck in the next over when Hope attempted an ambitious slog and lost his off stump for one.

Shimron Hetmyer then launched a counterattack. After a quiet start, he struck a boundary off Mayank in the third over. Abhishek subsequently dropped a straightforward catch at short third man when Hetmyer had five runs, giving the batter another opportunity to accelerate.

Hetmyer capitalised on the reprieve by smashing Arshdeep for a six and two fours in the fourth over, which yielded 19 runs. Mayank and Prince also conceded boundaries as West Indies reached 54/1 at the end of the Powerplay, trailing India’s 87/1 at the same stage by 33 runs.

Hetmyer continued his assault against Dhir, hitting the off-spinner for a four and a six. However, Dhir dismissed him for 43 with a slower delivery that skidded off the surface and beat his defence.

Kamil Pooran struggled to find his timing, and the mounting pressure forced Rovman Powell into an attacking shot against Axar Patel. Powell attempted to loft a quicker delivery without reaching the pitch of the ball, allowing the deep-cover fielder to take the catch for five.

Pooran later shifted gears against Dhir, smashing three sixes over cow corner, wide long-off and square leg. Dhir ended the assault when Pooran attempted another pick-up shot but failed to get underneath the ball and holed out in the deep for 42.

Sherfane Rutherford and Quention Sampson tried to revive the innings with a series of powerful boundaries. However, Nitish Kumar Reddy ended their stand when Sampson miscued a shot to the long-off fielder.

Arshdeep then delivered a decisive blow in the 18th over, dismissing Keemo Paul and Rutherford within four balls. His double strike left West Indies with little chance of winning, despite Springer’s late fireworks. Springer smashed three sixes and a four off Axar in the final over, but the late assault could not change the outcome.

Earlier, Abhishek’s blistering half-century and an aggressive 108-run partnership with Ishan Kishan put India on course for a total close to 250. Abhishek struck six fours and five sixes, while Kishan supported him with attacking strokeplay. However, regular wickets, soft dismissals and costly mix-ups allowed West Indies to regain control and restrict India to 223.

India, batting first, managed just 11 runs in the opening two overs. Roston Chase conceded four runs in the first over before Shamar Joseph dismissed Sanju Samson in the second. Samson mistimed a flick off a 150.8 kmph delivery and sent the ball to mid-wicket, where the fielder completed the catch for three.

Abhishek transformed the innings in the third over against Chase. He opened with an inside-out drive through cover-point for four, followed it with another inside-out shot over cover for six and finished the over with a second six over point.

Kishan then attacked Paul with three fours, before he and Abhishek took apart Springer in the fifth over. Kishan chipped a delivery over point for four, while Abhishek struck two consecutive fours over cover before smashing a length ball over the same region for six. India collected 21 runs from the over.

Joseph suffered a similar punishment in his next over, conceding another 21 runs. Kishan began with a boundary through the off side, and Abhishek followed with a six over cover and a four over mid-wicket. He then pulled the ball towards deep mid-wicket for two runs to complete his 14th T20I half-century in just 18 balls.

Abhishek continued to attack by backing away and squeezing a four past point. India finished the Powerplay at 87/1, firmly in control of the innings.

During his explosive knock, Abhishek also became the fastest batter to reach 2,000 T20I runs in terms of balls faced, achieving the milestone in 1,024 deliveries. He and Kishan continued to find boundaries until Chase turned the game around.

Chase broke their 108-run second-wicket partnership in the ninth over. He cramped Kishan for room with an incoming delivery as the batter stepped out, and Hope completed the stumping. Chase then trapped India captain Shreyas Iyer lbw for one in the same over.

Abhishek departed for 69 after top-edging a pull shot to Springer, who completed the catch. Gudakesh Motie then claimed his 50th T20I wicket when Dhir holed out to long-off.

With India losing momentum, Tilak Varma and Reddy attempted to rebuild the innings. Both batters struck two fours off Joseph in the 13th over, but Paul dismissed Reddy for 21 with a catch behind the stumps.

India then suffered two costly run-outs following communication errors. Axar flicked a delivery from Motie towards deep square leg and initially appeared to have found the boundary. Believing the ball had reached the ropes, he bumped fists with Varma while attempting a second run.

However, Pooran kept the ball in play, and Hope’s throw to Motie caught Varma short of his crease. The dismissal ended Varma’s innings at 28.

Axar also fell victim to a run-out. He pushed a Springer delivery towards point but initially showed no interest in taking a run, unaware that Arshdeep had already moved halfway down the pitch. Axar eventually set off, but Paul and Springer combined to complete the run-out, dismissing him for 20.

Springer trapped Arshdeep lbw, further slowing India’s progress. Prince then added valuable runs by heaving, scooping and edging Joseph for three boundaries. Joseph finally ended the innings by bowling Mayank with a sharp yorker.

Despite India’s late collapse, Abhishek’s explosive innings and Arshdeep’s decisive bowling helped the hosts secure a 14-run victory and move ahead 2-1 in the five-match T20I series.

Brief Scores:
India 223 all out in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 69, Ishan Kishan 37; Roston Chase 2-38, Shamar Springer 2-50)
West Indies 209/7 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 43, Kamil Pooran 42; Arshdeep Singh 3-44, Naman Dhir 2-39)