Rampant India toyed with an outclassed and deflated West Indies before completing an 88-run victory in the final T20 International of a five-match series at the Broward County Stadium in Florida on Sunday.
Shreyas Iyer’s 64 at the top of the order in a rejigged Indian batting lineup led his team’s charge to a total of 188 for seven batting first.
The Caribbean players’ noted vulnerability to spin was then exposed by the trio of Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel as they crashed to 100 all out off 15.4 overs to surrender the series 4-1.
Bishnoi led the rout with four for 16 while Yadav and Patel claimed three wickets each.
It marks the first occasion in T20 Internationals, since the first was played in 2005, that all ten wickets in an innings were taken by spinners.
India’s utter dominance contrasted sharply with a confused West Indian batting effort which started with former captain Jason Holder being pushed mystifyingly to the top of the order.
It ended with an abject capitulation as the last six wickets tumbled for 17 runs.
It only served to magnify the excellence of Shimron Hetmyer’s commanding 56 which came off 35 balls and was highlighted by five fours and four sixes.
Patel, whose powerful late-order hitting was also important in both the T20I matches and preceding One-Day International series – which India swept 3-0 – took the man of the match award by setting the West Indies immediately on the back foot with the first three wickets.
“My plan was to vary my pace and take advantage of the wickets here, which were similar to the Caribbean in being slow and offering a lot of assistance,” said the all-rounder.
“It really doesn’t matter how people classify me as a batting or bowling all-rounder, once I contribute.”
Left-arm seamer Arshdeep Singh, who took seven wickets in series, was named man of the series.
For West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran, whose team has now lost ten of their last 11 white ball matches, this was another chastening experience.
“We just weren’t good enough. India came out aggressively but as batters we didn’t learn,” was his blunt summation of the crushing loss.
“As a batting and bowling team we have a lot to do.”
India now head off to Zimbabwe for three ODIs in the middle of the month ahead of a hectic home schedule in the countdown to the World T20 in Australia in October.
The West Indies stay in T20I mode for three matches against New Zealand in Jamaica starting on Wednesday followed by three ODIs against the Black Caps in Barbados a week later.
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