Fans react in bewilderment as India bottle an easy 150-run chase in first T20I against West Indies

India could only manage 145/9 with Tilak Varma top-scoring with 39.

On August 3, 2023, at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, the first of the five T20Is between the West Indies and India began. The Men in the Blue team was eager to keep winning after winning the Test and ODI series.

After winning the toss, West Indies captain Rovman Powell decided to bat first. Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar, two talented Indian players, made their T20I debuts.

Despite losing Kyle Mayers and Johnson Charles early for single-digit scores, the hosts had a respectable inning. Although Brandon King scored 28 runs, Nicholas Pooran (41) and captain Rovman Powell (48) gave the batting a great boost and destroyed the Indian bowlers.

Although it appeared that they would surpass the 160-run threshold, Indian bowlers fought back and restricted them to just 149/6 in 20 overs. With two wickets each, Arshdeep Singh and Yuzvendra Chahal were India’s most effective bowlers.

In response, India struggled early on as openers Shubman Gill (3) and Ishan Kishan (6) were dismissed for quick runs. Tilak Varma, a rookie, and Suryakumar Yadav, a teammate from MI, came out as a result, and the young left-hander aced international cricket like a pro.

He didn’t waste much time and, on the 2nd, and 3rd deliveries he faced in international cricket, he hammered two beautiful sixes, both coming off Alzarri Joseph in the 6th over. However, he was dismissed by Shepherd for 39 runs in 22 balls with 3 sixes and 2 fours.

However, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, and Romario Shepherd brought West Indies back into the game.

Jason Holder bowled Hardik Pandya for 19, Sanju Samson was run out for 12, and then when it looked like Axar Patel would take India home, McCoy had him caught for 13 runs.

But Arshdeep Singh hit McCoy for two boundaries in the 19th over to bring the equation to 10 runs in the final 6 balls. Shepherd dismissed Kuldeep Yadav on the first ball in the 20th over. Though many hoped Arshdeep could do a miracle, the extra pace of Shepherd made it difficult.

In the end, India managed 145/9 and West Indies walked away victors by 5 runs.

The fans on social media were in shock as to how the Indian team bottled such an easy chase against West Indies to lose the match.

Here are some reactions:

Solid performance by @windiescricket! That over by @Jaseholder98 took it away from #TeamIndia! The men in blue will come back stronger in the next one 💪🏾💪🏾

— Robin Aiyuda Uthappa (@robbieuthappa) August 3, 2023

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli fans watching Hardik Pandya captaincy #IndvsWi#IndianCricketTeam pic.twitter.com/kDtcJaRBsg

— Ctrl C Ctrl Memes (@Ctrlmemes_) August 3, 2023

Under Coach DravidWe lost 8 points in the 2nd test due to Statpadding of his fav players. Lost 2nd ODI due to careless play by his fav players. Now we lost 1st t20I as wellWhere he played all his 3 fav players That's why I say #SackDravidSave #IndianCricketTeam pic.twitter.com/xoan7b0me5

— Sir Anthoni (@imAnthoni_) August 3, 2023

Hardik Pandya entering dressing room after the lost 1st T20Is vs West Indies. Indian Cricket Team preparing for upcoming T20 world cup team🤔🤣Missed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli.#WIvsIND #IndianCricketTeam #HardikPandya #TeamIndia #T20IWC pic.twitter.com/7WDcGRqEdm

— Ashutosh Srivastava 🇮🇳 (@sri_ashutosh08) August 3, 2023

My honest reaction to the performance of ICT i.e. degrading day by day, series by series. West Indies se kaun Haarte hai yaar.🥹🙏 #IndianCricketTeam #WIvsInd pic.twitter.com/y39G7bmV5V

— Ujjwal (@iUjjwal21) August 3, 2023

Captain Hardik- 19(19)No-1 ranked SKY- 21(21)Comeback King Samson- 12(12)Score of Indian middle order in 4̶t̶h̶ O̶D̶I̶ 1st T20i against Westendies❤️‍🔥The Official NBDC Team rightnow 🔥🔥 #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/NL6eLs02qc

— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) August 3, 2023

Another Day and Another Humiliation for Team India as West Indies beat India by 5 runs.#INDvsWI | #WIvsIND | #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/y84WYmyG04

— Ehtisham Siddique (@iMShami_) August 3, 2023

Strike Rate of Top 7 Indian batters in the first T20:Ishan – 66.67Gill – 33.33Surya – 100Tilak – 177.22🤡Hardik – 100Samson – 100Axar – 118.18 pic.twitter.com/nEA51OZFjC

— TukTuk Academy (@TukTuk_Academy) August 3, 2023

INDIA lost by 4 runs in first T20 against mighty WI Hardik Pandya: “We can pick two more teams and win any competition in the world” Can’t win against WI 😭 the team which is not qualified for WORLD-CUP 23 😭🤣#INDvWI #indvswi #wivind #wivsind #Chokli #HardikPandya pic.twitter.com/ro1fimMJaa

— Kriti Singh (@Kritiitweetss) August 3, 2023

Cant even chase 30 balls 37,And this is New era in T20?Where is intent merchants now, Ipl and international are different. #INDvWI #TeamIndia pic.twitter.com/UhtUB0RdP8

— RCB LOVER (@RCB_LOVER18) August 3, 2023

After 7yrs, India Lost a T20I match, While Chasing 150 or less Targets!#INDvWI pic.twitter.com/x0zTmleOBu

— 𝑺𝒉𝒆𝒃𝒂𝒔 (@Shebas_10dulkar) August 3, 2023

Great player, Bad Captain, Worst CoachDestroyer of Indian Cricket Team #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/aaY2LwcH8k

— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) August 3, 2023

India lost to mighty West Indies, The team that didn't even qualify for the ICC WorldCup but this wont stop them from bragging. Ab tou India ko minnow basher bhi nai bolsakte 😭🤣#WIvIND #INDvWI #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/kJiGLd9Aaz

— Abdullah Orakzaiiii (@AbdullahOrkzy23) August 3, 2023

For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.