Bravo magic seals one-run win in 489-run T20I

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West Indies 245 for 6 (Lewis 100, Charles 79) beat India 244 for 4 (Rahul 110*, Rohit 62, Bravo 2-37) by 1 runScorecard and ball-by-ball details

A hurriedly arranged exercise to take a glimpse into the future of cricket economy provided a giddying look into the future of Twenty20 cricket on the field. This was a future of fearless, relentless, calculated, almost unhurried hitting taken to the next level as West Indies first amassed their personal best of 245 only for India to come within two runs of mounting the highest successful T20I chase almost without breaking a sweat.

Evin Lewis and KL Rahul, replacing regular openers Chris Gayle and Shikhar Dhawan, smashed hundreds, but in this future bowlers did deal the consequential blows. India bowled superb wide yorkers to concede just 40 in the last four and 64 in the last seven, but the wily Dwayne Bravo outfoxed MS Dhoni and the centurion Rahul by defending seven runs in the last over. India needed two off the last ball, but Bravo made Dhoni wait and wait before bowling a slower ball that was caught by Marlon Samuels at short third man.

On a day that some batting records were broken and all sorts of others, and low-flying aircrafts, were under threat – Richard Levi’s fastest hundred off 45 balls thrice, most runs in an over, most runs in boundaries in a team innings, highest T20I score, highest successful T20I chase – the bowling was the story of the day. In particular the last over of the day.

When Bravo began it, 483 runs had been scored in 39 overs. Thirty-two sixes and 35 fours had been hit on a flat deck surrounded by short boundaries. Johnson Charles had looted 79 off 33, playing only five scoring shots on the off side. Playing only his second T20I, replacing Gayle, Lewis had hit five sixes in a Stuart Binny over. Rohit Sharma looked like he could cream his way to another hundred when he scored 62 off 28. Andre Russell, the best T20 cricketer going around today, had just been mercilessly taken for 36 runs in his last two overs.

Bravo had no business even hoping to save this one, especially …

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