Lauderhill (US), Aug 12 (PTI) An outstanding effort by bowlers helped India pin down West Indies to 178 for 8 and take a firm grip on the fourth T20 International here on Saturday.

Expectedly, West Indies, who are leading the series 2-1, batted by choice as the pitch at the Central Broward stadium often tends to slow down as the match progresses.

However, their batsmen, except Shai Hope (45) and Shimron Hetmyer (61), did not fully vindicate that decision despite getting a chance to bat first on a true pitch with predictable bounce.

India skipper Hardik Pandya began the proceedings through left-arm spinner Axar Patel, probably not to give Windies batters the desired pace.

But the move had little effect on Kyle Mayers as he collected 14 runs from the first over, including a six over wide long on and a swept four.

The consistent bounce nudged Mayers to play through the line fearlessly. But the left-hander was undone by the bounce eventually. Mayers tried to ramp Arshdeep Singh but the pacer pulled his length back to cramp him for room. Sanju Samson grabbed the resultant edge without much fuss behind the stumps.

Hope, who came in for Johnson Charles, and Brandon King added 35 runs for the second wicket as Windies went past the 50-run mark inside the Power Play segment.

King, who struggled to time the ball despite carting two sixes, soon fell to Arshdeep, who kept asking questions through a heady concoction of slow deliveries, bouncers and knuckle balls.

An expansive drive off the left-arm pacer ended in the hands of Kuldeep Yadav at short third man.

However, Kuldeep did more damage to the West Indian batting line-up soon. Pandya handed the ball to the left-arm wrist spinner in the sixth over and the result was instantaneous.

Kuldeep evicted Nicholas Pooran and home captain Rovman Powell in that over to jolt the opposition.

Pooran has tormented the Indian bowlers in this series, but Kuldeep snaffled him for the second time in as many matches to allay a big threat.

Pooran tried to clear Kuldeep over long on but he failed to inject distance to the shot as Suryakumar Yadav completed a simple catch.

Powell tried to hit Kuldeep to the on-side but an outside edge carried to Shubman Gill at slips.

West Indies suddenly found themselves at a marshy 57 for 4, losing three wickets in eight balls while adding a mere three runs.

The Caribbeans needed a passage of calmness, which was provided by Hope and Shimron Hetmyer.

The fifth wicket pair milked 49 runs in seven overs as Windies crossed the 100-run mark.

Hope played a wonderful cameo of 45 off 29 balls consisting of three fours and two sixes. His knock also masked Hetmyer’s relative struggle to find his rhythm.

However, Yuzvendra Chahal, who till then had a modest spell, jettisoned Hope to underline India’s upper hand on the day.

There were a few isolated glimmerings towards the end by Hetmyer, but not bright enough to push Windies to a par total.

Source: PTI News