India beat WI in 3rd T20I; Suryakumar, Tilak, Kuldeep shine
After losing two consecutive games, India bounced back in the third T20I against West Indies at the Providence Stadium, Guyana, on August 8. The Men in Blue successfully chased down 160, with Suryakumar Yadav playing a match-winning knock. He smashed a 44-ball 83, while youngster Tilak Varma was once again impressive with the blade. Earlier, spinner Kuldeep Yadav took three wickets for India.
How did the match pan out?
Brandon King and Kyle Mayers made a sturdy start after WI elected to bat. Although the former smashed a run-a-ball 42, the Caribbeans faced a collapse. Skipper Rovman Powell smashed a ferocious 40(19), taking WI to 159/5. Indian openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill fell cheaply, but SKY's innings took the match away from WI. Tilak and skipper Hardik Pandya got India home.
Kuldeep takes three; fastest Indian to 50 T20I wickets
Kuldeep was the pick of India's bowlers (3/28). He has become the fastest Indian to complete 50 wickets in the format. The 28-year-old reached this landmark in his 30th match. He broke the record of his compatriot Yuzvendra Chahal, who completed 50 T20I wickets in 34 matches. Among full-member players, only Ajantha Mendis (26) and Mark Adair (28) are ahead of Kuldeep.
Least balls taken to complete 50 T20I wickets (Indians)
Kuldeep is the only Indian to have completed 50 T20I wickets in less than 700 balls. He achieved this feat on his 638th ball in the format. Kuldeep surpassed Chahal, who took as many as 800 balls for this landmark.
Most T20I wickets for India against WI
Kuldeep is now India's highest wicket-taker against West Indies in T20I cricket. He overtook seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar (13) to own this record. The former has 15 wickets in just seven T20Is at an incredible average of 12.26 against WI. Overall, the Indian spinner is only behind England's Adil Rashid (22), Bangladesh's Shakib Al Hasan (21), and New Zealand's Tim Southee (21).
SKY's joint-fastest fifty in T20Is
Suryakumar stamped his authority right from the first ball. He struck a four and six off his first two balls after India lost Jaiswal in the first over. There was no looking back for SKY as he kept punishing the Caribbean bowlers. He brought up his 14th T20I half-century off 23 balls, his joint-fastest in the format. SKY smashed 10 fours and 4 sixes.
SKY completes 100 sixes in T20Is
During the chase, Suryakumar hammered his 100th six in T20Is. He raced to 100 T20I maximums in his 49th innings, the joint second-fastest to this mark along with Chris Gayle. Only WI's Evin Lewis smashed 100 T20I sixes in fewer innings (48). Notably, Suryakumar is the third Indian after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli with 100 sixes in the format.
Young Tilak impresses again
Tilak, who was impressive on his international debut, continues his purple patch. He nearly slammed another half-century to pave India's way in the 3rd T20I. The left-handed batter returned unbeaten on 49 off 37 balls as skipper Hardik finished off with a six. In the 2nd T20I, Tilak became the second-youngest Indian to slam a half-century in T20I cricket.
