The series now moves to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where the decisive final T20I will be played on December 11.
West Indies' Lendl Simmons in action during the second T20I match between India and West Indies at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala on Dec 8, 2019. (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS)
West Indies defeated India by 8 wickets in the second T20I at Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Riding on opener Lendl Simmons’ unbeaten 67, the Carribean chased down the target of 171 runs with nine balls to spare to level the three-match series 1-1.
Earlier, a superb knock of 54 off 30 balls from Shivam Dube, who was promoted to number three, had taken India to a fighting 170 for 7 in 20 overs.
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A poor fielding effort from India saw West Indies cross the winning line with ease. Washington Sundar’s nightmarish run in the field continued when he dropped a sitter and gave Simmons a lifeline while he was on six off 10 balls in the fifth over that was bowled by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Two balls later, Simmons’ opening partner Evin Lewis was saved when Rishabh Pant was wrong-footed. The wicketkeeper did well to get to the ball after changing direction but it was a drop nonetheless.
The duo put an opening stand of 73 runs — West Indies’ best partnership of the match — and laid a perfect foundation, riding on which the visitors achieved the target with ease.
Though India got the wickets of Lewis (40) and Shimron Hetmyer (23), but Simmons’ 67 not out and an unbeaten 38 off 18 from Nicholas Pooran denied any twist in the tale.
The series now moves to the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai where the decisive final T20I will be played on December 11.
Brief scores: India 170 for 7 (Shivam Dube 54, Rishabh Pant 33 not out; Hayden Walsh jr 2 for 28) vs West Indies 173 for 2 (Lendl Simmons 67, Evin Lewis 40; Ravindra Jadeja 1 for 22)
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