India began their Caribbean tour on a positive note as the second string Indian side defeated West Indies by 16 runs in their one-off the T20 match at Queen’s Park Oval in Port-of-Spain.
Darren Sammy won the toss and opted to bowl on a slow tarck.Badrinath and Sharma made a recovery after some wobbling start from the tourists leaving them 56/4 after 9 overs. They made 159 runs from their 20 overs.Man of the Match Badrinath scored a stroke filled 43 and Rohit Sharma’s contribution helped the visitors to put up a decent score. West Indies Captain Darren Sammy pocketed 4 wickets
West Indies made a poor start and the hosts were reeling at 22/2 after 5 overs.A partnership between Darren Bravo and Marlon Samuel’s was threatening the Indian’s but India’s turbunator Harbhajan Singh knocked off the pair in one over to make it a mounting task for the Windies, with required rate climbing up.
Lower down the order Barnwell’s big hitting sparked off some life but it was just not enough and without any support from the other end. He made 34 from 16 balls with 2 fours and 3 sixes.
With big guns like Sehwag, Dhoni, Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan Etc.This win is a booster for a young Indian team led by a young captain Suresh Raina who gave their new coach Duncan Fletcher a winning start.
The Indian team won their first T-20 International against West Indies.
Courtesy: AFP
This match is followed by a 5 match ODI series which starts from 6th June at the same venue; the tour also includes 3 tests.
