Surya special guides India to easy victory

Hits a 44-ball 83 as the visitors chase down 160 with 13 balls to spare against Windies in third T201

- Aditya Chaturvedi

Suryakumar Yadav treated fans at the Providence Stadium in Guyana to a special knock as India beat West Indies by seven wickets in the third T20 International on Tuesday to stay alive in the five-match series.

Set a tricky target of 160 runs on a sluggish pitch, India cruised home thanks to a breathtaking 44-ball 83 from Suryakumar. The visitors finished with 164/3 in 17.5 overs, with young Tilak Varma being the other key contributor in the batting order.

India's chase got off to an action-packed start as they picked up 16 runs in the first over but lost a wicket too. While Shubman Gill cut his first delivery for four, Yashasvi Jaiswal ended up having a forgettable debut as he miscued a slog and found the fielder. Suryakumar, though, came to the crease full of confidence and began his innings with a four and six.

Gill, having scored just 181 runs in eight innings across formats on the tour, needed to spend time in the middle but he was dismissed cheaply again. He let out a roar in disappointment as soon as the ball hit the top edge of his bat and made its way towards the fielder. Alzarri Joseph had picked up an important wicket and India were in a serious spot of bother at 34/2 in 4.2 overs.