Hyderabad, The West Indies on Friday posted a mammoth 207/5 for India to chase in the first T20I between the two sides at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here.
Shimron Hetmyer slammed 56 off 41 balls while Evin Lewis got 40 off 17 while captain Kieron Pollard and Jason Holder too used the long handle to good effect to help the visitors post an imposing total.
West Indies lost their first wicket early with Deepak Chahar getting Lendl Simmons to nick to Rohit Sharma at slips. However, this was followed by a 51-run stand between Lewis and Brandon King that let West Indies dominate the Powerplay overs.
The visitors’ next big stand came between Hetmyer and Pollard. The pair added 71 runs for the fourth wicket and were saved by some uncharactestic slackness from India in the field.
Hetmyer survived when his attempted sweep off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16th over was misjudged by Washington Sundar.
Pollard then survived a hat-trick of dropped catches in the next over. The first was by Sundar once again, this time running in from long on. Rohit Sharma then caught the ball momentarily on the boundary line behind the bowler but had to let go just as he went over the ropes. The next ball slipped right through his hands at long on and went for a six in what was an otherwise regulation catch.
Both Pollard and Hetmyer were then dismissed in the 18th over, falling to Chahal, but Holder smashed 24 off just nine balls to ensure that the West Indies ended the innings on a high.
Brief scores: West Indies 207/5 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 56, Evin Lewis 40; Yuzvendra Chahal 2/36)
