India vs West Indies, 2nd T20I - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Series: West Indies tour of India, 2022 Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata Date & Time: Feb 18, 07:00 PM LOCAL

Pant hit a rapid fifty for India. © BCCI

India win series

That was too close for comfort. India thought they had the game sealed in the bag but Powell gave them a scare when WI needed 23 from 4 deliveries. He smashed two sixes off the next two balls to bring the equation down to 11 from 2 but Harshal Patel managed to close the game out eventually. Valiant effort from the Windies goes in vain but that performance will give them a lot of confidence going ahead.

Massive moment in the chase

Pooran miscues one off Bhuvneshwar Kumar and this time, Bishnoi takes the catch. He is a very good fielder and he isn't going to give a batsman two reprieves. He might have dropped Pooran earlier but this catch might have just tilted the game towards India once again.

50 for Powell

That's his third fifty in T20I cricket and it has come at a crucial juncture. If he keeps this going, he will help West Indies finally open their account on the tour. They need 35 from 16. India's only hope is Harshal Patel. Every delivery from the crafty bowler is worth its weight in gold.

have made a serious signing....

12861 351

Dropped!!

You just don't drop this man, he will make you pay big time!! West Indies have given Rohit a reprieve here. He cut one very hard but the fielder at backward point couldn't latch onto the chance. Cottrell has been very good so far with the new ball.

Redemption

Wow!! This has been a very good over from Cottrell and Ishan has just not been able to connect one cleanly. Now, he gets a leading edge and is dismissed. Two poor outings for Ishan and that will dent his confidence a touch. Will be interesting to see if he gets a go in the third game as well. But for now, India are dented early and out comes Virat Kohli. Cottrell bowls a wicket maiden.

Shocking review

What were the West Indies thinking!! Cottrell went for a huge appeal for a caught behind against Ishan Kishan and the visitors eventually took the review to challenge the umpire's call. Replays confirm that there was a massive gap between the bat and the ball.

Two free hits wasted

India were gifted a couple of free hits by Akeal Hosein in the very first over of the game but both Ishan Kishan and Rohit Sharma managed to hit it straight to the fielder at deep midwicket. Huge let off for the visitors but they conceded 10 anyway in that first over.

Toss -West Indies opt to bowl

Kieron Pollard gets the toss right on his 100th T20I for West Indies. That's a great landmark for the skipper and he will hope his team ends up on the winning side tonight. West Indies have made one change by bringing in Jason Holder in place of Fabian Allen. India on the other hand, quite surprisingly, haven't made any changes to their XI.

Teams:

India: Rohit Sharma (C), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant (WK), Suryakumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard (C), Jason Holder, Odean Smith, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Sheldon Cottrell

Build up

After the first T20I, Nicholas Pooran said his side were unsure on their strategy against India's spinners. Debutant Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal were on top of the West Indies batters and as a result, the visitors could only put up 157 on the board. If they are to keep this series alive, they will have to be very sure on what they are going to do tonight against Bishnoi and Chahal. For the West Indies, this isn't just about keeping the series alive though. Four games into the tour and they are still winless this time and they would badly want to change that.

Pooran managed to score a brisk half-century in the last game but their woes with the bat overall continues to hamper them. India on the other hand continue to impress no matter what changes they make to their personnel. Expect the hosts to tinker a bit tonight as well. Rohit Sharma made a cracking start with the bat in the chase but Ishan Kishan looked out of depth. The team management will surely back to come good tonight though and it will be interesting to see if they make any changes to that batting order. Virat Kohli, will once again be under the spotlight as the continues his search for a big score.

Welcome to the live blog for this second T20I from the Eden Gardens. Expect a true surface on offer, which in turn hopefully provides us a high-scoring thrilling contest.