West Indies defeat India by 4 runs in the first Twenty20 match, with Tilak Varma making his debut.


West Indies take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series after a tight contest on a difficult to bat on track.

 Indian vs. West Indies first T20 live score: The West Indies scored 149/6 against India in the first T20I, led by Nicholas Pooran (41) and Rovman Powell (48). The bowlers of choice for India were Yuzvendra Chahal and Arshdeep Singh.

 Powell made the decision to bat first after winning the toss earlier in Trinidad. Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar, who joined T Natarajan as the only other Indian players to debut in all three formats on the same trip, received two maiden caps for the sport from India.

 West Indies had a great bowling effort to defend 145. After the WI innings, captain Rovman Powell was reasonably optimistic that his team could defend the score if their pacers could alter the pace effectively. And they accomplished just that when they faced the top-ranked T20I team.

 The initial breakthrough came from Akeal Hosein, who used a stunning removal to get rid of Gill. Ishan Kishan, who had recorded four straight fifty-sevens on this tour, was defeated by McCoy. The ship was partially steadied by SKY and Tilak Varma, the latter of whom appeared to be in excellent touch. The hosts retaliated. Hetmyer's brilliant grab to remove SKY and the debutant's demise to Romario Shepherd's off-speed short ball ended the partnership.

 India would have believed in their chances even though WI were bowling brilliantly when Hardik and Samson were out in the middle. But Holder's over, which was also his first, and both hitters' dismissals came in the same over. In the penultimate over, Arshdeep hit a couple of fours, but Shepherd landed his yorkers in the last over to put an end to any Indian hope.

 West Indies got off to a fast start earlier in the day thanks to King. Pooran started off well but slowed down significantly as the innings went on. Captain Powell led the way with 48 points after receiving a few pardons.

 West Indies, on the other side, will be seeking to rebound after losing the Men in Blue's recent Test and ODI series. The game is likely to be tight. India will be the favourites, but the West Indies will be looking to defy the odds and win their first T20I series.

 WI Scores: 29-1 (K Mayers, 4.1), 30-2 (Brandon King, 4.3), 58-3 (J Charles, 7.3), 96-4 (Pooran, 14.1), 134-5 (Hetmyer, 18.1), 138-6 (Rovman Powell, 18.5)

 India Scores: 5-1 (Shubman Gill, 2.2), 28-2 (Ishan Kishan, 4.5), 67-3 (Suryakumar Yadav, 9.2), 77-4 (Tilak Varma, 10.6), 113-5 (Hardik Pandya, 15.1), 113-6 (Sanju Samson, 15.3), 129-7 (Axar Patel, 18.1), 140-8 (Kuldeep Yadav, 19.1), 144-9 (Arshdeep Singh, 19.5)