held off a late surge from Shamar Springer to beat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium in Indore on Sunday and take a 2-1 lead in the series. West Indies won the toss and chose to bowl first on a surface that offered grip and low bounce. India posted 223 all out, powered by ’s explosive knock, before their bowlers restricted the visitors to 209 for 7.
fell early, caught off Shamar Joseph for 3. Abhishek Sharma and Ishan Kishan then tore into the attack, adding 108 runs in just 40 balls as India raced to 87 in the powerplay. Abhishek reached his fifty in 18 balls and finished with 69 off 30, striking six fours and five sixes. During the innings, he became the fastest batter to 2,000 T20I runs by balls faced, getting there in only 1,024 deliveries to break ’s previous mark of 1,164. He is also the sixth Indian to reach the milestone. Kishan contributed 37 off 18 before the momentum shifted.
Roston Chase triggered a collapse in the ninth over by stumping and trapping Shreyas Iyer LBW. was then caught and bowled by Shamar Springer, and India slipped from 115 for 2 to 124 for 4 in nine balls. Tilak Varma looked well set on 28 off 16 when a costly mix-up ended his stay in the 17th over. Axar Patel flicked a low full-toss from Gudakesh Motie toward deep backward square leg. Kamil Pooran dived and kept the ball in play, but Tilak and Axar assumed it was a boundary. They completed one run, fist-bumped in the middle of the pitch and began walking casually. Axar scrambled back safely, yet Tilak was stranded well short as Motie broke the stumps. The third umpire confirmed the run-out after reviewing the boundary save.
Nitish Kumar Reddy made 21 and Axar 20 before further wickets fell, including another run-out involving Axar. Prince Yadav’s unbeaten 13 off 6 helped India reach 223. Chase, Joseph and Springer each took two wickets.
West Indies lost Shai Hope for 5 when struck in the second over. Shimron Hetmyer (43 off 26) and Kamil Pooran (42 off 27) rebuilt with a 60-run stand, but Naman Dhir bowled Hetmyer and later dismissed Pooran after the batter struck three sixes in an over. Axar had Rovman Powell caught by Kishan. Sherfane Rutherford (32 off 20) and Quentin Sampson (21) added 46 before Nitish Reddy had Sampson caught by Tilak.
Arshdeep’s 18th over proved decisive. He had Keemo Paul caught by Tilak and then yorked Rutherford. Needing 48 off the last 12 balls, Shamar Springer took 22 off Axar’s final over with three sixes and finished unbeaten on 35 off 11, yet West Indies closed on 209 for 7. Arshdeep finished with 3 for 44 and was the standout, with Dhir taking 2 for 39.
The win gives India control of the series with two matches left. Abhishek’s record-breaking start and Arshdeep’s death bowling outweighed the mid-innings lapses, including Tilak’s costly brain fade.
