West Indies' Brandon King and Shai Hope embrace after beating India by 8 wickets in the fifth T20 cricket match at Central Broward Regional Park in Lauderhill, Fla, Sunday, Aug. 13, 2023. (AP). Over a month after missing out for the ODI Cricket World Cup for the first time since the tournament’s inception in 1975, the West Indies closed their all-format series against India with a 3-2 win in the five T20Is.
The scenes as Brandon King cleared the ropes to wrap up an eight wicket win in the fifth T20I – the series decider – with the joy in the Windies camp, depicted how much a first bilateral series win for the hosts against India since 2016 meant.
Following the result on Sunday, former West Indies pacer Ian Bishop would deliver an emotional statement on the win and what it meant in the current context for Cricket West Indies.
“I saw some tweets on social media about the state of West Indies Cricket from my friends and colleagues. I would want to remind them that when your friend is hurt, you don’t say get rid of them. You try to find out how to help them. Leave it,” Bishop would say on broadcast.
Earlier, after winning the toss in Lauderhill, Florida, Hardik Pandya opted to bat first. Powered by Suryakumar Yadav’s 61 of 45, the men in blue posted 165/8 in their 20 overs quota. Romario Shepherd (4/31) was the pick of the bowlers for Rovman Powell and Co.
Chasing 166, the Windies closed the game with eight wickets and two overs to spare. King (85*) and Pooran (47) would stitch together a 107-run stand for the second wicket and were the highest run getter in the game and the highest scorer in the series respectively.
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