Daily Times

BARBADOS: West Indies beat India by six wickets in the second one-day international at Barbados on Saturday, claiming their first victory over the Asian side in nearly four years to level the series at 1-1 and force a decider. In the absence of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, India were put into bat after the hosts won the toss and it was initially smooth sailing as Ishan Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) stitched together an opening partnership of 90. But the top order suffered a collapse and India soon found themselves at 113-5 before Suryakumar Yadav (24) attempted to rescue the innings. However, a second collapse in the lower order saw India bowled out for 181, with Gudakesh Motie and all-rounder Romario Shepherd picking up three wickets each on a track that aided the bowlers.

In response, Shardul Thakur cleaned up the top order with three wickets after Kyle Mayers gave them a quick start with 36 off 28 deliveries, which included two sixes. But West Indies skipper Shai Hope (63 not out) and Keacy Carty (48 not out) played patient knocks to chase down the target, wrapping up the match in the 37th over. “When things are difficult, you’ve got to find ways to score quickly on that wicket, especially against a quality bowling attack like India,” said Hope, who was named player of the match. Very satisfied, the aim was to get back into the series. We’ve got to win one more and need to come back strongly.” The final ODI will be played on Tuesday before a five-match Twenty20 series.

Brief scores:

West Indies 182 for 4 (Shai Hope 63 not out, Keacy Carty 48 not out, Shardul Thakur 3-42) beat India 181 (Ishan Kishan 55, Gudakesh Motie 3-36, Romario Shepherd 3-37, Alzarri Joseph 2-35) by six wickets.