Abhishek Sharma Leads India to 223 Against West Indies

India set West Indies a target of 224 in the third T20I at Holkar Stadium in Indore after posting 223, powered by Abhishek Sharma's 69. The hosts recovered from a middle-order collapse before finishing their innings, while Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph and Shamar Springer claimed two wickets each for the visitors.

According to India Today's live match coverage, Sharma's aggressive innings helped India establish a strong platform after an early setback. He reached his half-century in just 18 balls and became the fastest player to reach 2,000 T20I runs, adding another milestone to his performance.

India's innings lost momentum when West Indies broke through during the middle overs. Chase dismissed both Ishan Kishan and Shreyas in the same over, while Sharma fell soon afterward. The hosts slipped from 115/1 to 135/5, allowing the visitors to regain control of the contest.

Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy attempted to rebuild the innings, but their partnership ended when Paul took a wicket. India's scoring rate slowed further toward the end, and run-outs involving Tilak and Axar compounded the team's difficulties. Prince Yadav provided a late contribution that helped India move beyond 220.

After the innings, Sharma assessed India's total as competitive but acknowledged that the team could have scored more. He also discussed the difficulty of hitting straight on the Indore surface and the importance of selecting the right deliveries against Chase.

Sharma said India had gathered useful information about the lengths that were difficult to attack, giving the bowlers feedback to consider while defending the total. He also expressed confidence in the experience of India's bowling attack to manage the conditions.

West Indies began their chase with captain Shai Hope and Kamil Pooran opening against Mayank Yadav. Hope, who had scored a century in the previous match, took strike as India prepared to defend their total with an additional fast bowler to address the expected impact of dew.

Mayank immediately tested the visitors with deliveries reaching 149 kph. Hope survived a swing-and-miss at 148.2 kph before taking a single, while Pooran also found it difficult to settle against the pace and movement.

Arshdeep Singh shared the new ball and maintained pressure during the opening exchanges. Pooran worked a delivery toward midwicket and later steered another toward cover for a quick single as West Indies started their pursuit of 224.

India entered the second innings seeking a stronger bowling performance after West Indies had chased down 250 in the previous game. The third T20I therefore gave the hosts an opportunity to defend a substantial total and test their revised attack against a side arriving with confidence from its earlier chase.