Cricket-India hold off West Indies to take 2-1 series lead in third T20


Oct 11 (Reuters) - India beat ⁠West Indies by 14 runs on Sunday in Indore to ⁠take a 2-1 lead in the five-match Twenty20 International ‌series.

Chasing 224 for victory, West Indies suffered an early setback when Arshdeep Singh dismissed captain Shai Hope for five after he missed a swipe at a delivery ​that jagged back on to his stumps.

Shimron ⁠Hetmyer kept the visitors ⁠in the hunt with a brisk 43 off 26 balls before spinner ⁠Naman ‌Dhir broke the stand, while Axar Patel removed Rovman Powell to leave West Indies struggling to match the ⁠mounting required rate.

Quentin Sampson and Sherfane Rutherford briefly revived ​the chase, but ‌West Indies could not sustain the momentum as wickets fell ⁠regularly in ​the closing overs and they finished on 209-7.

Arshdeep was India's standout bowler with 3-44 as the hosts defended a formidable 223 after being asked ⁠to bat.

India recovered from the early loss ​of Sanju Samson, who fell for just three to Shamar Joseph, through a 108-run partnership for the second wicket between Abhishek Sharma and ⁠Ishan Kishan.

Sharma dominated the scoring with an explosive 69 off 30 balls, while Kishan contributed 37. However, the hosts lost momentum when Kishan's dismissal triggered a middle-order collapse.

The platform laid by Sharma ​ultimately proved decisive, allowing the lower order to ⁠keep the scoreboard moving and lift India to 223 before they ​were bowled out off the final delivery ‌of the innings.

The teams meet again ​in the fourth Twenty20 International in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

(Reporting by Karan Prashant Saxena in Bengaluru, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

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