Wicketkeeper-batsman Rishabh Pant and captain Virat Kohli along with fast bowler Deepak Chahar helped India outclass the hosts by 7 wickets in the third and final T20I at the Guyana National Stadium on Tuesday.
In their first series after the World Cup semi-final exit, India asserted their dominance over T20 world champions by completing their 6th straight win. India earlier whitewashed West Indies 3-0 at home last year. Notably, this was also West Indies’ 6th straight loss in the shortest format of the game.
Rishabh Pant finishes it off in style!
That's that from Guyana as #TeamIndia win the third T20I by 7 wickets to clinch the three match T20I series 3-0 😎👏 pic.twitter.com/teSKCBtWBQ
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 6, 2019
Chasing 147 to win on a sluggish pitch, India lost openers, Shikhar Dhawan and KL Rahul, cheaply. However, captain Kohli and young Pant combined for the 3rd wicket and put on a match-winning partnership of 106 runs.
Especially Pant, who was brutally trolled by fans on social media for throwing away his wickets in the first 2 matches in Florida, showed a lot of maturity in the last match of the series. He took his time before beginning to cut loose.
The 20-year-old, who is set to get a lot of game time in the absence of MS Dhoni in the West Indies tour, gave enough respect to the likes of Sunil Narine before taking the attack to the other bowlers.
Pant went on to score unbeaten 65 runs off just 42 balls. In the process, he surpassed Dhoni’s score of 56, which was earlier the highest-score by an Indian wicketkeeper in T20Is.
Highest scores by India’s Wicket-Keepers (T20Is)
65* – Rishabh Pant v West Indies in Guyana, 2019
56 – MS Dhoni v England in Bengaluru, 2017
52* – MS Dhoni v South Africa in Centurion, 2018
