IND vs WI: Twitter Reacts As Nicholas Pooran's Blazing Fifty Guides West Indies To Hard-Fought Win In 2nd T20I Over India

Riding on Nicholas Pooran’s impressive fifty, West Indies beat India by 2 wickets in the second T20I to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Batting first, India started poorly with the bat once again. Shubman Gill’s indifferent display with the bat continued as he was out for just 7. Suryakumar Yadav could not deliver either as he departed for 1, leaving India reeling at 18 for 2 in the fourth over.

Ishan Kishan and Tilak Varma then steadied the ship and took the score past the 50-run mark. But before the duo could bat the visitors to a position of strength, Romario Shepherd dismissed Kishan with a beauty to reduce India to 60 for 3 in the 10th over. Sanju Samson failed to do well with the bat too and was the fourth Indian wicket to fall.

He was out for 7 before Varma and Hardik Pandya took the score past the 100-run mark with a 38-run stand. Akeal Hosein broke the stand when he dismissed Varma soon after the latter reached his maiden T20I fifty. The left-handed scored 51 off 41 balls with the help of five fours and a six.

India eventually finished their innings on 152 for 7 in the allotted 20 overs. For West Indies, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, and Romario Shepherd picked up two wickets apiece.

West Indies Beat India

Just like India, West Indies also made a poor start with the bat. Captain Hardik Pandya decided to open the bowling for his team once again and made an instant impact. He dismissed Brandon King for a duck on the very first ball of the innings before dismissing Johnson Charles for 2 to leave the hosts reeling at 2 for 2 in the first over.

West Indies then managed to break the shackles in the third over when Nicholas Pooran hit Pandya for a six and a four while Kyle Mayers hit the India skipper for one four. In the fourth over, Mayers hit Arshdeep Singh for a four and a six before the left-arm pacer trapped him in front of the stumps. Pooran, on the other end, continued batting aggressively.

In the fifth over, he hit Mukesh Kumar for two fours before smashing his IPL teammate Ravi Bishnoi for 18 runs in the sixth over. At the end of the powerplay, West Indies were on 61 for 3. Pooran completed a fine fifty in the 10th over before Pandya dismissed his West Indies counterpart Rovman Powell in the same over to give India a much-needed breakthrough.

Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer then hit boundaries at regular intervals to keep West Indies on top before the former’s dismissal turned the game on its head.  Mukesh Kumar dismissed Pooran for 67 on the final ball of the 14th over. In the 15th over, Bishnoi conceded just 1 before Chahal conceded two runs and picked up two wickets while Romario Shepherd was run out in the 16th over.

From 126 for 4 in the 14th over, West Indies found themselves reeling at 129 for 8 after 16 overs. India, however, could not deliver the killer punch as Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph shared an unbeaten stand of 26 runs to take their team home.

Here is how Twitter reacted to the second IND vs WI T20I:

Tough being Yuzi Chahal. He got you back in the game with a double-wicket over, with Windies down on their knees, and somehow the skipper took him off the attack. And India lost.
Go figure #IndvWI #T20I

— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) August 6, 2023

Baffling for me that Chahal hasn’t finished his quota of 4 overs in both the games. #INDvsWI

— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) August 6, 2023

When Chahal was bowling well, Hardik Pandya stopped him and brought Mukesh Kumar.

This guy came to replace Rohit Sharma and lost back to back matches against West Indies. ?? pic.twitter.com/zpAQWCPSRG

— ANSHUMAN? (@AvengerReturns) August 6, 2023

Akeal Hosein always prefers to be referred to as an all-rounder rather than a spinner. He has made a strong case to get his due with a cameo to see West Indies home

— Amol Karhadkar (@karhacter) August 6, 2023

WI are crushing. Then Indian spinners turn the game around. Bishnoi gives 1 run in 15th over. Chahal gives 2 runs in 16th + 3wkts. India now 2wkts away from a win. You think Yuzi with 1 over remaining will win you the game. But next 3 overs are bowled by pacers. WI win by 2 wkts.

— Nikhil Naz (@NikhilNaz) August 6, 2023

We are being extra unique here. Cleansweep loading?.

— Bhawana (@bhawnakohli5) August 6, 2023

Poor captaincy by Hardik Pandya, Yuzvendra Chahal should have bowled over no. 18?

— Sushant Mehta (@SushantNMehta) August 6, 2023

Didn't bowl Akshar when there was turn available and Pooran was gone. And now Chahal blunder. Hardik has gifted the game on a platter after the bowlers brought it back almost.

— Saurabh Malhotra (@MalhotraSaurabh) August 6, 2023

Hardik Pandya: pic.twitter.com/jhEJgjdcia

— Sameer Allana (@HitmanCricket) August 6, 2023

West Indies have defeated India to take 2-0 lead in this T20i series. pic.twitter.com/ykbBIJj5Ps

— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) August 6, 2023

It was such kind of awful captaincy that you might call it a BRAIN FADE. #WIvIND

WI batters were failing to even connect the ball against Chahal. He picked up 3 wkts in the last over and Hardik decided not to give him the next over. Gave Arshdeep & Mukesh the next two overs and… pic.twitter.com/Wzvkkqd4GJ

— Saif Ahmed ?? (@saifahmed75) August 6, 2023

WEST INDIES WON…..!!!!!

West Indies beat India by 2 wickets in the 2nd T20I & take 2-0 lead in the series. pic.twitter.com/7q2HrynDc4

— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) August 6, 2023

Indian cricket reviving West Indies cricket. Never ever question BCCI what they have done for struggling cricket boards. ❤️❤️

— Silly Point (@FarziCricketer) August 6, 2023

Congratulations WI, thank u Hardik u can only do dramas u don’t have zero game sense

— mohsinali (@mohsinaliisb) August 6, 2023

Time to accept the fact that Indian Team is nothing without Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli pic.twitter.com/JdsaOTkTuu

— Ansh Shah (@asmemesss) August 6, 2023