Yadav inspires India T20 win over WIndies

Suryakumar Yadav has smacked an unbeaten 34 off 18 balls to guide India to victory over the West Indies by six wickets in the first match of their Twenty20 series.

Yadav hit five fours and a six to rescue India from a precarious 3-95 at Eden Gardens, putting on 48 off 26 balls with Venkatesh Iyer (24 not out) to seal Wednesday's win with seven balls to spare.

That was after Nicholas Pooran had scored 61 off 43 balls to take West Indies to 7-157. In reply, India finished on 4-162 in 18.5 overs.

"The outfield was quick because of dew and it gave us an advantage," Yadav said.

"It was an important partnership with Venkatesh. When he came in, the difference (in scores) was just eight runs. We decided not to play fancy shots, just good cricket shots. I am really happy the way he played."

Chasing 158, captain Rohit Sharma provided a quick start to the Indian innings by smacking 40 off 19 balls, including four fours and three sixes.

Sharma and Ishan Kishan (35) put on 64 off 45 balls for the first wicket but the skipper holed out off Roston Chase (2-14) in the eighth over and the innings came unstuck.

Chase also accounted for Kishan, who played an uncharacteristic knock off 42 balls.

Virat Kohli (12) struggled to get going again, caught in the deep off Fabian Allen as India were reduced to 3-95 from 1-64 in the space of five overs.

Yadav and Rishabh Pant (8) pushed the score past 100 before Cottrell accounted for Pant.

India's chase became a struggle at 4-114 when Yadav and Iyer came together to salvage a win, with Iyer hitting two fours before clouting a six to seal the victory.

Earlier, Pooran's half-century powered West Indies to a challenging total on a slow Eden Gardens pitch.

West Indies lost Brandon King (4) early to