Ind vs WI, 1st T20I: Shimron Hetmyer hits maiden half-century, takes West Indies on top

New Delhi | Jagran Sports Desk: West Indies batsman Shimron Hetmyer on Friday brought his maiden half-century while playing in the opening T20I against India held at Rajiv Gandhi Stadium in Hyderabad. The 22-year-old Guyana batsman brought his fifty in style by hitting a six off Yuzvendra Chahal in the 16th over. He faced 41 balls in his innings of 56, hitting four sixes and two fours before getting dismissed to Chahal in the 18th over. 

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The visitors put up 207 for the loss of five wickets in the scorecard after 20 overs. Apart from Hetmyer, opener Evin Lewis scored 40 runs to give a good start to West Indies after they won the toss and elected to bat first. Skipper Kieron Pollard added 37 runs Youngster Brandon King too contributed 31 runs. For India, Chahal was the pick of the bowlers with two wickets for 36 runs. He emerged as the highest wicket-taker for India in T20Is during the first fixture.  

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In reply, skipper Virat Kohli (unbeaten 94) and opening batsman KL Rahul (62), who also became the third-fastest to score 1,000 runs in T20I cricket, ensured an easy win for the men in blues. Together the duo shared a partnership of 100 runs. Meanwhile, Rohit Sharma, who failed to catch consecutive catches of Kieron Pollard (his IPL/ MI team-mate) in the 17th over, was dismissed for just eight runs while Rishabh Pant managed just 18 runs, failing to finish off the match. For West Indies, Khary Pierre picked two wickets but emerged as the second expensive bowler for the visitors. 

 

The two teams will next meet each other in the second T20I scheduled to be held at the Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram on December 8 (Sunday). India lead the three-match series 1-0.