'That is the power of Hardik captaincy' - Fans react as India win fourth T20I against West Indies in Florida

Yashasvi Jaiswal (Source: Twitter)

India won the fourth T20I against West Indies in style and levelled the series 2-2 with a match to go. On a good batting track in Florida, West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss and elected to bat first. The Indian bowlers were on the money straightaway. In the first 7 overs, India had West Indies at 57/4 on a good batting deck. Arshdeep Singh and Kuldeep Yadav were on fire.  

Arshdeep dismissed Brandon King and Kyle Mayers early in the innings. Axar Patel and Yuzvendra Chahal went for runs in the Powerplay overs. But Kuldeep Yadav in his very first over dismissed the two dangerous batters like Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell. What followed was a brilliant show of batting from the duo of Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer.  

Hope scored 45 runs in 29 balls which included 3 fours and 2 sixes. On the other hand, Hetmyer scored 61 runs in 39 balls which included 3 fours and 4 sixes. The duo scored 49 runs for the fifth wicket. But the dismissal of Hope led to a mini-collapse. From 106/4 in 12.4 overs, West Indies were reduced to 123/7 after 15.3 overs. India looked all set for a great finish, which was not to be.  

Young brigade win the match for India

In the last 33 balls, West Indies scored 55 runs. Hetmyer smashed the Indian bowlers in the death overs. As a result, the home side posted a good total of 178 runs on the board. Chasing the target, India never looked uncomfortable. The opening duo Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill batted West Indies out of the match. The duo put on a mammoth 165-run partnership for the opening wicket.  

While Shubman Gill was at his usual best and manoeuvred the bowlers well, it was Jaiswal who stole the show with his combination of classical and unorthodox ways of play. In his second T20I match, the 21-year-old scored an unbeaten 84*(51), became the youngest Indian to score a T20I fifty, and helped India to win the match.   

Here's how the fans reacted to India's win: 

Sanju ko moka do to atleast batting to karne diya kro uske liye tv chaalu krte h 🥲🙏#dilsesanju

— aditya kumawat (@adityakuma2512) August 12, 2023

Thank God mister captain ki batting ni aayi ya haar jaate ya apne attitude mai kisi ka record kharab kardeta woh

— SUNNY SALUJA (@SUNNYSALUJ80342) August 12, 2023

Good to see, but there is no consistency in player. Our tail enders are big zero in batting.

— Vijay kumar singh (@vijaysinghcrms) August 12, 2023

Great come back India from 0-2 to make or 2-2. Two strong wins has put back India on track and they should win the last match to win the series 3-2. The same performance is needed tomorrow with the bowling and fielding a bit tighter.

— Mohil Patel (@MohilPatel2) August 12, 2023

Feels good about the winning, but not a coordination Gill with Jaiswal.. @BCCI look onto this.. Tell our senior player we r coming to play for our country not for the personal

— Eeesan Adimai (@EeesanAdimai) August 12, 2023

Great win! Keep it up Indian team.

— Jayaprakash Reddy (@DrjpreddyReddy) August 12, 2023

What could be the reason Hardik didn't bowled in powerplay today... 😜😜😜

— Vishwesh (@Itz_Vishwesh) August 12, 2023

Finally happy to see @ShubmanGill not repeating his mistakes, this is his strength & @ybj_19 love him perfect opening duo ❤️

— pk.prakashphotography (@pk_prakashfoto) August 12, 2023

That’s the power of hardik captaincy….@JayShah sack rohit sharma n make hardik as captain for World Cup definitely he will win cup for us

— s_b13 (@BhandageShankar) August 12, 2023

The joys return after a long long time. How we relished two youngsters dominating the game right after the top. Maza aa gaya !

— Partho Chakravarty (@ComPartho) August 12, 2023

Jaiswal has replaced Gabbar and gill will replace Hitman....
Good partnership for INDIA'S future cricket 👍

— Jatin Yadav (@JattinYADAV) August 12, 2023