The comeback is greater than the setback, and the Men in Blue (especially the men of the Blue and Gold) showed just that to reverse the two-match losing streak and bring the caravan back on track.

Brandon King’s run-a-ball 42 and a late blitzkrieg from Rovman Powell (19-ball 40) propelled West Indies to 159/5 in 20 overs, after winning the toss and batting first. Along the way, they were frustrated by a milestone man, Kuldeep Yadav (3/28).

Aapla Dada Surya set the stage and undertook a special masterclass with the bat as he struck a robust 83 off 44 balls. Taking a cue from the former, Tilak Varma crafted an unbeaten 49. India captain Hardik Pandya hit the winning runs in a six-ier manner as he got his team back into the five-match series.

Here’s a summary of all that transpired at the Providence Stadium.

Jaiswal debut, Ishan rested

With a win required at all costs, the Indian management brought Yashasvi Jaiswal into the playing XI. The southpaw, who impressed in the Test series, would replace Ishan Kishan in the batting space. As far as bowling is concerned, Kuldeep Yadav returned to the team in place of Ravi Bishnoi.

Windies openers open shop, with confidence

King and Kyle Mayers confidently kick-started the West Indies innings with 50 runs in seven overs. The duo used the short boundaries to their advantage and fished out runs off the Indian spin trio of Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

However….

Kuldeep denied the transaction, breaking through the hosts’ top order as he dismissed Johnson Charles (LBW), King (caught and bowled) and Nicholas Pooran (stumping). With this, he became the fastest Indian (30 matches) to 50 wickets in men’s T20Is. Target locked: 160

SKY calls the shots

Aapla Dada Surya found his rhythm again after a quiet few games as he raced to 36 in just 18 balls and helped India post 60/2 at the end of the powerplay.

Following the premature dismissals of openers Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6), SKY took it upon himself to resurrect the run chase. He reached his fifty in the successive five balls (50 in 23 deliveries).

At over 9.3, he completed a particular milestone: 100 sixes in T20Is. He matched the ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle’s record of 49 innings and one short of the all-time record set by former MI star Evin Lewis (48).

From second fiddle to *almost* a match-winner

After his senior at MI had a merry time with the Windies bowlers, young Tilak switched roles and took the driver’s seat to set a much-needed win for India. The southpaw kept charging forward from 26 in 21 balls to 49 from 37 balls at the end of the successful chase, after skipper Hardik Pandya hit the winning runs with a sky-scraping SIX.

Through his innings, Tilak became the second Indian batter after SKY to register 30+ scores in each of his first three T20I innings.

And so, is the series done and dusted? Not YET. The comeback victory tonight was a gentle reminder that there is a lot of adrenaline rush still left in the tanks of the Indian team, and the counter-attack has just begun. After a few days of recovery and redrawing strategies, the teams will reconvene for the final two T20Is that will take place at Lauderhill over the weekend. So Paltan! Let's crank up the cheering volume!

Brief scores: India 164/3 (Suryakumar Yadav 83, Tilak Varma 49*; Alzarri Joseph 2/25) beat West Indies 159/5 (Brandon King 42, Rovman Powell 40*; Kuldeep Yadav 3/28, Mukesh Kumar 1/19) by seven wickets.