FORT LAUDERDALE - West Indies defeated India by one run in a record run-laden Twenty20 clash on Saturday after piling up the third highest ever total in the game's shortest format.
Set 246 to win, India needed two runs off the last ball for a famous victory in the Florida sunshine. But skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni could only scoop a Dwayne Bravo delivery into the hands of Marlon Samuels at short third man to leave India agonisingly on 244-4.
Lokesh Rahul was unbeaten for India on 110 in just his fourth T20 match, hitting 12 fours and five sixes. West Indies' total of 245-6 was just short of Australia's 248 against England in Southampton in 2013 while Sri Lanka's 260 against Kenya at Johannesburg in 2007 remains the highest ever T20 total. Evin Lewis smashed an impressive 100 and Johnson Charles hit 79 as the West Indies laid the foundations to mark Carlos Brathwaite's first game as skipper with a victory.
The second match of two back-to-back T20s at the rarely-visited Central Broward Regional Park venue takes place on Sunday.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES:
J Charles b Shami 79
E Lewis c Ashwin b Jadeja 100
A Russell lbw b Jadeja 22
K Pollard b Bumrah 22
C Brathwaite run out 14
D Bravo not out 1
L Simmons b Bumrah 0
M Samuels not out 1
EXTRAS: (w4, nb2) 6
TOTAL: (6 wickets; 20 overs) 245
FOW: 1-126, 2-204, 3-205, 4-236, 5-244, 6-244.
BOWLING: M. Shami 4-0-48-1, B. Kumar 4-0-43-0, J. Bumrah 4-0-47-2, R. Ashwin 4-0-36-0, R. Jadeja 3-0-39-2, S. Binny 1-0-32-0.
INDIA:
R Sharma c Charles b Pollard 62
A Rahane c Bravo b Russell 7
V Kohli c Fletcher b Bravo 16
L Rahul not out 110
MS Dhoni c Samuels b Bravo 43
EXTRAS: (lb2, w4) 6
TOTAL: (4 wickets; 20 overs) 244
FOW: 1-31, 2-48, 3-137, 4-244.
BOWLING: Russell 4-0-53-1, Badree 2-0-25-0, Bravo 4-0-37-2, Narine 3-0-5-0, Brathwaite 4-0-47-0, Pollard 3-0-30-1.
TOSS: India
UMPIRES: Nigel Duguid (WIS) and Joel Wilson (WIS)
TV UMPIRE: Leslie Reifer (WIS)
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
UMPIRES: Nigel Duguid (WIS) and Joel Wilson (WIS)
TV UMPIRE: Leslie Reifer (WIS)
MATCH REFEREE: Ranjan Madugalle (SRI)
