India falls short by one run, chasing 246

India needed two runs from the final ball to win the match, but Dhoni failed to get those runs as he was caught by Marlon Samuels, slicing a slower delivery off Dwayne Bravo. India ended the run chase at 244 for 4 from 20 overs.

Published : Aug 27, 2016 19:04 IST , Fort Lauderdale (US)

K .L. Rahul reached his 100 in 46 balls, the joint second fastest in T20Is along with Faf du Plessis and just one ball short of Richard Levi's fastest 45-ball hundred against New Zealand in 2012 in Hamilton.
K .L. Rahul reached his 100 in 46 balls, the joint second fastest in T20Is along with Faf du Plessis and just one ball short of Richard Levi's fastest 45-ball hundred against New Zealand in 2012 in Hamilton.
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K .L. Rahul reached his 100 in 46 balls, the joint second fastest in T20Is along with Faf du Plessis and just one ball short of Richard Levi's fastest 45-ball hundred against New Zealand in 2012 in Hamilton.

India almost pulled off the highest ever successful run chase in T20 Internationals with K. L. Rahul smashing his maiden hundred but fell short by a run in a nerve-wrecking last-ball finish against the West Indies here today.

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Rahul, who replaced Shikhar Dhawan, hit 110 not out from 51 balls with the help of 12 fours and five sixes.

India needed two runs from the final ball to win the match, but Dhoni failed to get those runs as he was caught by Marlon Samuels, slicing a slower delivery off Dwayne Bravo. India ended the run chase at 244 for 4 from 20 overs.

West Indies holds the record for the highest run chase after outscoring South Africa's 231 in Johannesburg last year.

Dhoni's men, however, have the highest T20I second innings score.

Rahul, who was dropped on 36 by Andre Russell, became the third Indian to hit a century in T20Is after Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. Playing in his fourth T20I, Rahul reached his 100 in 46 balls, the second fastest in T20Is along with South African Faf du Plessis and just one ball short of South African Richard Levi's fastest 45-ball hundred against New Zealand in 2012.

The match, the first international outing for India in the United States, was in fact a show of batting prowess between the two teams on a featherbed of a pitch on a small ground at Lauderhill.

Evin Lewis (100 off 49 balls) and Johnson Charles (79 off 33) mauled the Indian bowlers after being put into bat by Dhoni. This was the highest ever T20I score against India by any team, surpassing the 219 for 4 by South Africa in Johannesburg in March 2012.

The Indian run chase began with Rohit Sharma (62 off 28 ) hitting three fours off Samuel Badree in the second over. But, Rahane (7), who was asked to open the innings with Rohit, departed in the third over with Bravo taking a sensational catch near the boundary line. Bravo dived to his left and managed to catch the ball inches from the ground.

Test captain Virat Kohli (16 from 9 balls) came out and hit two fours off Badree immediately, but he was not to be the saviour of the Indian team this time as he fell in the fifth over. Bravo cramped Kohli for room with a short ball and the ball kissed the glove as Fletcher completed an excellent catch down leg side.

India was 51 for 2 after five overs. Rahul hit off-spinner Sunil Narine for a six and two fours to take 16 runs from the sixth over. Rohit scored as many against the same bowler in the eighth over as the Indians reached 100 in 8.3 overs.

Rohit reached his 50 hoisting Kieron Pollard for a six in the 10th over after facing 22 balls as India was 116 for 2 at the halfway stage. India was going strong with Rohit and Rahul getting the runs and keeping the asking rate within reach. But Rohit fell in the 12th over, finding Pollard near the ropes.

Dhoni, who came out next, played a good supporting role to Rahul as India reached 182 for 3 at the end of 15 overs, needing 64 runs from five overs.

India needed 33 runs from the final three overs to win the match. India took nine runs from the 18th over and 16 from the penultimate over with Rahul reaching to his hundred with a six off Russell. That left India with just eight runs from the final over. But Dhoni and Rahul could only manage six.

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