At 105/3 in the 11th over, Kamil Pooran had Naman Dhir on the back foot, having smashed the young spinner for six off his first, second and fifth deliveries. After the second-ball maximum, Abhishek Sharma and captain Shreyas Iyer rushed over, perhaps to calm Dhir down.Pooran tried to clear the ropes once more and finish the over on a high. This time, the pick-up shot had height but not distance, and Arshdeep Singh held the catch to end the right-hander’s threatening stay.The dismissal extended a peculiar sequence in Dhir’s short T20 career: every wicket he had taken had come off a ball after the batsman hit him for six. “Six and Out”, the name of Brett Lee’s band in 1999, has become an apt description of Dhir’s knack for striking straight after being attacked.After the mauling in Ranchi 48 hours ago, the off-spinner, combined with Axar Patel and aided by Arshdeep Singh’s 3/44, took India home by 14 runs.Chasing 224, Arshdeep set the tone in India’s bowling effort. Shai Hope held the key to the chase, but the left-armer switched from over to around the wicket, and the captain missed a delivery that crashed into his stumps. India had found the opening to make the asking rate climb early. Arshdeep Singh of India celebrates the wicket of Sherfane Rutherford of West Indies during the 3rd T20I match between India and West Indies at the Holkar Stadium, Indore, India on October 11, 2026.Photo: SurjeetYadav / CREIMAS for BCCIAt Ranchi, India’s spinners had struggled to find the right lengths. In Indore, they were more disciplined. Dhir dismissed Shimron Hetmyer with a delivery that skidded on at pace; the left-hander went back when he should have come forward and lost his off stump.Axar varied his pace and length, mixing a floated ball on middle with a slower delivery outside off and one fired in at 101.8 kph. The variation denied the batsman a comfortable swing through the line. As the required rate rose, Powell came down the track but could only slice his lofted shot to deep point.Story continues below this adWith Hope and Hetmyer back in the hut, India still had to account for Sherfane Rutherford, whose power could quickly change the game. He tried to keep West Indies in contention, but Arshdeep’s searing yorker in the 18th over ended his stay on 32 and dented the visitors’ hopes.The improved bowling mattered because India had been forced to defend a total built on Abhishek Sharma’s explosive 69 off 30 balls. His T20I scores since making 108 against Afghanistan in Delhi last month had been 0, 7, 61, 20 and 21. After Sanju Samson’s 82 in Ranchi, Abhishek needed a response in Indore. He delivered, giving India a blistering start before their innings unravelled.Samson fell in the second over, but Abhishek refused to let the early wicket slow the scoring. Roston Chase, who had dismissed him in each of the previous two matches, was the first to feel the onslaught. In the third over, Abhishek backed away to lift a quicker full ball over extra cover, launched a slower one over wide long-off and finished with a six over deep point. Eighteen came from the over.West Indies then struggled to find their lengths. Keemo Paul’s short ball on leg was met with a short-arm jab over mid-wicket; when Paul angled one away, Abhishek spanked it over mid-off. Against Shamar Springer, he slashed a short delivery outside off through cover-point.Story continues below this ad Abhishek Sharma of India celebrates after scoring a fifty during the 3rd T20I match between India and West Indies at the Holkar Stadium, Indore, India on October 11, 2026.Photo: Pankaj Nangia / CREIMAS for BCCIShai Hope tried to set fields to suit his bowlers, but Abhishek kept finding gaps and boundaries on either side of the small Holkar Stadium. He was not swinging blindly: width outside off was cut or driven through the covers and backward point, fuller balls were lofted, and deliveries on his body were worked or pulled. He reached his half-century in 18 balls, and India raced to 87/1 in the powerplay.At the other end, Ishan Kishan counterattacked with 37 off 18. Their 108-run stand from 40 balls gave India a platform for a huge total. But Abhishek and Kishan fell within nine deliveries, and the middle order could not sustain the momentum.Tilak Varma was left to launch at the finish, but was run out for 28 after a bizarre mix-up with Axar. Thinking Kamil Pooran’s stop had resulted in a boundary, they turned casually, unaware the ball remained in play. Axar made it back safely, but Tilak was short after Hope relayed the ball to Motie at the bowler’s end.From 115/2, India lost their last eight wickets for 108 runs. Prince Yadav’s final-over cameo gave the total a late lift, and proved important as India’s bowlers made the difference. Dhir’s “six and out” moment was the most memorable example of a wider recovery: after Ranchi, India’s attack had responded with better plans and execution.Story continues below this adIndia 223 all out in 20 overs (Abhishek Sharma 69, Ishan Kishan 37, Tilak Varma 28; Roston Chase 2/38) beat West Indies 203/7 in 20 overs (Shimron Hetmyer 43, Kamil Pooran 42; Arshdeep Singh 3/44, Naman Dhir 2/39, Axar Patel 1/33) by 14 runs.