(Cricket news) India defeated West Indies by 7 wickets to take a 2-1 lead in the T20I series. After a disappointing outing in the last T20I, India bounced back really well with a good performance. Rohit Sharma won the toss and elected to bowl first. Ravindra Jadeja was given a rest and was replaced by Deepak Hooda which was surprising as Axar Patel was the ideal replacement for Jadeja. Having said that, Hooda had been waiting a long time for his opportunity on the bench. West Indies also announced one change as Dominic Drakes replaced Odean Smith. 

Batting first the home side finished their innings at 164/5. Kyle Mayers scored 73 off 50 balls hitting 8 fours and 4 sixes. Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell and Shimron Hetmyer all played small cameos. India bowled well in the middle overs to keep the run rate under control. Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up 2 wickets while Hardik Pandya and Arshdeep Singh picked up a wicket each. Pandya once again showed his class proving his importance in the team. Arshdeep is being used in a different way in different games and he is rising to the challenge every time. Avesh Khan who is being given a lot of backing was once again very expensive as he gave away 47 runs in 3 overs. 

Chasing 165 runs, India suffered an early blow as skipper Rohit Sharma had to retire hurt. Suryakumar Yadav and Shreyas Iyer took charge as they had a partnership of 86 runs. SKY was the star of the show as he scored 76 off 44 balls to guide India to victory. He hit 8 fours and 4 sixes in his stellar innings and that too while opening the batting which isn't his usual position. Rishabh Pant added the finishing touch with 33 off 26 balls as India chased down the target with an over to spare. India have now taken a 2-1 lead in the series. There is a 3 day break before the next T20I in Florida in which the series could be decided.

Also read: Asia Cup T20: India meet Pakistan on August 28, minimum two games assured between arch-rivals