Team India defeated West Indies in the third T20I by 7 wickets courtesy of Suryakumar Yadav's beautiful batting display to take a 2-1 lead in the series on Wednesday. Team India had won the toss and chose to bowl, but the Caribbean side got off to a good start.
Brandon King and Kyle Mayers put up a 57-run opening stand, but once Hardik Pandya provided the early breakthrough India were able to put the brakes on their opponents. Mayers would go on to score his fifty, and he was dismissed after scoring 73 runs by Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Some late heroics from Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell helped the West Indies score 164/5 in their respective 20 overs. In reply, the Men in Blue were jolted by an early injury blow to Rohit Sharma who was retired hurt but Suryakumar Yadav played another memorable knock in the Indian jersey.
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After struggling as an opener on Monday, Yadav scored a fifty on Tuesday and he would end up with 76 runs, putting India on top in their chase. Deepak Hooda and Rishabh Pany applied the finish touches as the Men in Blue completed a 7-wicket win to move ahead in the series 2-1.
Yadav struck eight fours and four sixes in his 44-ball knock, while wicketkeeper Rishabh Pant scored an unbeaten 33 as India chased down a target of 165 with one over to spare.
India pace bowler Bhuvneshwar Kumar took 2-35, while all-rounder Hardik Pandya and seamer Arshdeep Singh also bagged one wicket each.
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India won the series opener by 68 runs, while West Indies won the second match by five wickets. The fourth T20 will be played on Saturday followed by the final game on Sunday.
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With inputs from Reuters
