For the first time the Indian men's senior team have faced a defeat in a milestone T20I match. Their 4 run loss in Tarouba on Thursday was in their 200th T20I match.
There are still 4 more games left to be played in the ongoing series and the Men in Blue, who are ranked Number 1 in the ICC Men's T20I team rankings, are still the big favourites to win the series.
However they will have to draw up their strategies very well against a team playing at home and one that is overall wounded after failing to make the cut for the ICC ODI World Cup for the first time.
The next edition of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup will be held in the Caribbean and the US and Hardik Pandya and co. will be itching to get their strategies right.
1/10:1st T20I: West Indies stun India by 4 runs
AFP
2/10:West Indies beat India
<p>West Indies won the opening Twenty20 International by 4 runs on Thursday as India flopped in pursuit of a modest 150-run target at the Brian Lara Stadium. </p>AP
3/10:Rovman Powell
<p>Captain Rovman Powell top-scored with 48 in his 32-ball knock as the West Indies made 149-6 after winning the toss and opting to bat. </p>AFP
4/10:Nicholas Pooran
<p>Nicholas Pooran fell for 41, but the West Indies were restricted to only 21 off the final three overs. </p>AFP
5/10:Yuzvendra Chahal
<p>Yuzvendra Chahal trapped Kyle Mayers leg-before for one and removed fellow opener Brandon King (28) the same way two balls later. </p>AFP
6/10:T20 specialists
<p>Well-placed at 77-3 in the 11th over thanks to debutant Tilak Varma's top score of 39 and 21 from Suryakumar Yadav, India lost six wickets for just 68 runs. </p>AFP
7/10:Tilak Varma
<p>Tilak Varma hit three sixes in his 22-ball innings, with two of his sixes came in the first three balls he faced from Alzarri Joseph. </p>AFP
8/10:Fine debut
<p>Tilak Varma's innings ended on the last ball of the 11th over when he was caught at fine leg by Hetmyer off Romario Shepherd with the total at 77. </p>AFP
9/10:Suryakumar Yadav
<p>Suryakumar Yadav's was the third wicket to fall, brilliantly caught by Hetmyer who dived to his left at short extra cover off Jason Holder. </p>AFP
10/10:Hardik Pandya
<p>Skipper Hardik Pandya (19), Axar Patel (13) and Singh (12) all made useful contributions but struggled to force the pace on a slow pitch. </p>APAhead of the second T20I vs the West Indies on Sunday, where India will be aiming to level the series at 1-1, TimesofIndia.com here brings you some of the most interesting statistics that emerged after India's narrow loss on Thursday:
# Having won their 1st, 50th, 100th and 150th match, India suffered their first defeat in a milestone Twenty20 International (200th)
India's milestone Internationals:
# West Indies became the fourth team to successfully defend a total of less than 150 against India in T20Is - the first three teams being New Zealand, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
# India have a better Twenty20 International record against Pakistan after 100, 150 and 200 matches.
# After more than eleven years, India have lost three matches out of four played while chasing - by 16 runs to Sri Lanka at Pune on January 5, 2023; by 21 runs to New Zealand at Ranchi on January 27 and by 4 runs to West Indies at Tarouba on August 3. In between they defeated New Zealand by six wickets at Lucknow on January 29.
# India's defeat to the West Indies by four runs is their second narrowest in terms of runs against the West Indies next only to the one-run loss at Lauderhill on August 27, 2016. In all, India have lost eight T20Is by less than five runs.
# Jason Holder has been adjudged the Man of the Match for the first time vs India and the third time overall in T20Is - the first two being both vs England at Bridgetown in January 2022.
Tilak Varma (AP Photo)
# Tilak Varma's strike rate of 177.27 while scoring 39 off 22 balls is the highest by an Indian batter on debut while scoring 30-plus in Twenty20 Internationals. Ishan Kishan recorded strike rate of 175.00 while scoring 56 off 32 balls on debut vs England at Ahmedabad on March 14, 2021.
# India (145 for nine) posted their second lowest total while losing against the West Indies in T20Is - the lowest being 138 at Basseterre on August 1, 2022.
# Mukesh Kumar has become the second Indian player to represent India in all three formats of international cricket on the same tour. T.Natrajan was the first to achieve the distinction during India's tour to Australia in 2020-21.
Stats Courtesy: Rajesh Kumar
