T20I: India fall at last hurdle Vs WI

Lauderhill (US): The Indian batters fluffed their lines when it mattered most as a determined West Indies are on course of handing captain Hardik Pandya his first bilateral series defeat before rain stopped play in fifth and final T20 International here on Sunday.

Within 24 hours of producing a batting masterclass on a featherbed, the Indian batters, save Surya Kumar Yadav's scratchy yet effective 61 off 45 balls, posted a sub-par score of 165 for 9 after opting to bat on a used track that had become slower.

On a pitch where strokemaking wasn't an easy proposition, Surya had to curb his flair a bit but still had enough firepower in his arsenal to hit four fours and three sixes during his knock.

In reply, India's nemesis Nicholas Pooran (46 not out off 32 balls) looked way more fluent in company of Brandon King (54 not out off 38 balls) as they added 105 runs for the second wicket to put West Indies at a comfortable 117 for 1 in 12.3 overs when lightning stopped play.

They were way above DLS par-score of 91 and will be deserving winners even if play doesn't start. On same track where the Caribbean bowlers put Indian batters under tight leash, the bowling attack looked horribly out of depth barring Kuldeep Yadav (0/18), who delivered yet another steady performance.

Pooran and King cleverly decided to play out Kuldeep's spell and attacked others with disdain. Once the West Indies got 60 in the powerplay, there was no looking back as they maintained the tempo with most of the Indian bowlers pitching it short giving Pooran ample time to tonk them in the arc between the long-on and cow corner.

However it was the batting that became India's undoing as they never got the desired momentum during the middle as well as end overs. Even Surya was a bit subdued by his own lofty standards because the slowness didn't allow him to play his natural game.

It was a used track where the ball started gripping from the very first over bowled by left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (2/24 in 4 overs), who made an impact against the Indian batters throughout the series. (PTI)