Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Kolkata, Feb 18 : A half-century from Virat Kohli before Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer’s blitzkrieg helped India post 186/5 against West Indies in second T20I at the Eden Gardens here on Friday. West Indies conceded 10 runs in the first over after putting India into bat. Left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein had a horrendous start, leaking a boundary of a wide and then bowling back-to-back no-balls. However, India openers didn’t take advantage of the free hits. The visitors quickly overcame the shocker as Sheldon Cottrell got an early breakthrough. Ishan Kishan gave an easy catch at point and walked back for two. Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli recovered India from the hiccup, making the most of powerplay overs with India reaching 49/1.
A mistimed shot from Rohit (19), who was dropped on 2, resulted in his departure off Roston Chase. The off-spinner bagged another crucial wicket as he caught and bowled Suryakumar Yadav for 8. Kohli, who was enduring a lean patch, finally silenced critics with his 30th T20I half-century. The former India skipper brought up his fifty with a maximum over long-on after the ball went over Jason Holder, who got to the ball but couldn’t held onto it. Two balls later, Chase finally got the better of Kohli (52) as the ball took a turn and crashed his middle stump. Towards the end, Venkatesh Iyer’s 18-ball 33 cameo and Rishabh Pant’s unbeaten 52 off 28 balls ensured a big finish for India
