West Indies batsmen Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell were in a marauding mood while chasing down the target of 177 against India in the second T20I between the two sides. Just when it seemed like the duo would finish off the game, Indian pacers Harshal Patel and Bhuvneshwar Kumar put the brakes on the visitors' innings with two excellent overs at the death.
Having conceded 71 runs from overs 12 to 17, India were losing control of the game when Patel walked in to bowl the 18th over. West Indies needed 37 runs from 18 balls to win, with Pooran on 56 and Powell on 49.
Patel started with two full toss deliveries, first to Pooran and then to Powell, both managing only singles. Pooran swung again and missed as Patel bowled a length delivery wide outside off. The fourth was slower and Pooran lifted it over cover, yet managing only a single.
With two balls to go, Powell slogged it towards deep midwicket and called for two, but some quick work by Ishan Kishan restricted it another single as coach Rahul Dravid applauded the bowler and fielder for a job well done. Unfortunately, Pooran smacked the last ball for a boundary towards square leg. 29 needed from 12 now.
Bhuvneshwar was up next and he would later reveal that captain Rohit Sharma told him that he should not allow the opposition to score more than 9 or 10 runs in his over. The experienced pacer had gone for 25 runs in his first three overs without a wicket, and had even dropped a sitter off his own bowling. Sharma was hoping his man would not be as expensive in the death.
What followed was a display of controlled bowling that would effectively choke the rampaging Windies and redeem the bowler.
Bhuvneshwar begins his over with a full-toss ball, which is pushed toward midwicket by Powell for a single. Pooran is poised to go big, but he is tricked by a slower delivery outside off. Swing and a miss again.
The third ball finally does the trick for India. The pacer sends down an off-cutter, and Pooran smacks hard as it moves away from him. The ball catches the edge of his bat and hangs in the air before a back-pedalling Ravi Bishnoi grabs it, ending the big partnership between Powell and Pooran.
India take charge once again, but Bhuvneshwar still has three deliveries to go as the dangerous Kieron Pollard walks out to bat. To score 28 from nine balls is not impossible for big-hitters like Pollard and Powell.
But Bhuvneshwar had other plans. Yorker, bouncer and yorker again. Powell and Pollard pull and heave but manage a paltry three runs as the Indian players and fans applaud Bhuvneshwar for conceding just four runs and taking Pooran's wicket to show why he is still one of India's top fast bowlers.
With 25 needed from Patel's final over, Powell would smack him for two sixes, but the visitors fall short and concede the match—and the series—to India at the Eden Gardens.
The win was India's 100th in T20I history, and a memorable one, too.
