India were faced with having to set a new record for highest successful T20I run chases at Lauderhill in their fourth T20I against the West Indies. However, they ended making light work of that task thanks to young openers Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal putting up a record-equalling partnership.
Chasing a target of 179, Jaiswal and Gill got them off to an absolute flier. India cruised to 66/0 in the powerplay and the pair then got their side to exactly 100 runs in 10 overs. The partnership was broken at 165 with Gill falling to Romario Shepherd on 77 off 47 balls. Incidentally, that also equalled the record for the highest-ever opening partnership by an Indian pair in T20 internationals.
Previously it was Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul who held that record. While Gill and Jaiswal's innings came in 15.3 overs, Rohit and Rahul had blazed it in just 12.4 overs. Rohit himself had scored 118 in 43 balls before falling, thus bringing the opening stand to an end. India had batted first at the time and ended up scoring a mammoth 260/5, eventually winning the match by 88 runs.
On Saturday, neither of the openers scored a century but India won by nine wickets with three overs to spare. The partnership is also the third highest oof all time overall for India in the shortest format, with Rahul and Rohit's partnership in 2017 being second. The highest is a 176-run stand shared between Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson against Ireland last year.
Jaiswal making the right noises
{{/usCountry}}On Saturday, neither of the openers scored a century but India won by nine wickets with three overs to spare. The partnership is also the third highest oof all time overall for India in the shortest format, with Rahul and Rohit's partnership in 2017 being second. The highest is a 176-run stand shared between Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson against Ireland last year.
Jaiswal making the right noises
{{/usCountry}}Jaiswal stayed till the end and was unbeaten on 84 off 51 balls. He has scored a half century in just his second T20I and he is the fourth youngest Indian to have got to the milestone. He has done it at the age of 21 years and 227 days. Above him is Rishabh Pant who had scored 58 against the West Indies in 2018 at 21 years and 38 days. Tilak Varma is second highest having done so in the second match of this series at 20 years and 271 days. The youngest remains Rohit, who had scored the first of his 29 T20I half centuries at the age of 20 years and 143 days against South Africa in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
Rare succesfull run chase at Lauderhill
This is the first time any team has chased down a total over 95 at Lauderhill. Teams batting first have won a majority of the matches at the venue, with Saturday's result being only the third instance of any total being succesfully chased. The previous highest succesfull second innings score was 98/6 by India in response to the West Indies being limited to a score of 95/9. The other team who succesfully chased a target were Sri Lanka in 2010 after they blew New Zealand away for a paltry 81. They chased it down but only in 15.3 overs and for the loss of three wickets.