Jaiswal, Gill shine bright as India level series versus WI

Openers stitch stand of 165 as the visitors cruise to target with three overs to spare

- Rasesh Mandani

India decided to be brave with their bowling plans. West Indies with their batting intent. At the innings break, the home side were very much with a chance, setting India 179 runs to chase in the fourth T20 international at Lauderhill, Florida on Saturday.

But India's new opening pair, Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill, made light of the run-chase with their 165-run partnership off 94 balls for a nine-wicket win to level the series 2-2. The decider will be played on Sunday.

During India's reply, Jaiswal was the one who matched the early aggression West Indies batters had showed, shot for shot. He played an attacking shot to almost each of the 19 balls he faced in powerplay, hitting seven boundaries.

When India count the takeaways from the series, they would be particularly happy that young Jaiswal came out with all the intent, which Indian fans had seen in his IPL performances. That is what has earned him a spot in the eleven over Ishan Kishan. With powerful drives, the odd boundary behind the wicket, even bringing out the switch hit, Jaiswal looked every bit seasoned from his IPL gigs.