India double thrill dose

Rishabh Pant slams one during his 28-ball 52 not out against West Indies in the second T20I. Pic/PTI

India sealed the T20I series against West Indies on Friday after yet another clinical performance to win the second T20I by eight runs at Eden Gardens.

Chasing India's 186-5, Nicholas Pooran (41-ball 62) and Rovman Powell (68 not out off 36 balls) threatened to take the game away. But the pressure of a rising run rate eventually got to the Windies as they finished at 178-3.

Earlier, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant hit attacking half-centuries as India reached 186 for five. West Indies skipper Kieron Pollard won the toss and elected to field in his 100th T20I, while off-spinner Roston Chase led the bowling charge with three wickets in his team's bid to stay alive in the series, led by India 1-0, in Kolkata.

The Indian batting wobbled after Kohli's 52 but Pant, who hit an unbeaten 52 off 28 balls, and Venkatesh Iyer put on 76 runs for the fifth wicket to boost the challenging total.

Pace bowler Sheldon Cottrell got Ishan Kishan caught behind for two after the left-handed openers' struggle at the crease in a 10-ball stay. Skipper Rohit Sharma and Kohli rebuilt the innings in their partnership of 49 with the former captain coming in all guns blazing with a string of boundaries. Chase sent back Rohit for 19 and then caught and bowled Suryakumar Yadav for eight.

Kohli, who had scores of eight, 18 and nought in India's 3-0 ODI sweep of West Indies and then 17 in the opening T20 win, overcame a brief lull to smash his 30th T20I fifty. He raised his 50 with a six off Chase, who finished with figures of 3-25, but was bowled two balls later after his 41-ball knock. The left-handed batting pair of Pant and Iyer, who made 33 off 18 balls before being bowled by Romario Shepherd, then hit back to take the attack to the opposition.

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The West Indies are yet to win a T20I v India at Eden Gardens

Brief scores
India 186-5 (R Pant 52', V Kohli 52, V Iyer 33; R Chase 3-25) beat WI 178-3 in 20 overs (N Pooran 62, R Powell 68'; B Kumar 1-29, R Bishnoi 1-30) by eight runs

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