INDORE, India (AP) — Arshdeep Singh and spinner Naman Dhir shared five wickets as India beat West Indies by 14 runs in the third T20 cricket international on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Singh took 3-44, and Dhir returned 2-39 as West Indies was restricted in its chase to 209-7.
Abhishek Sharma earlier hit 69 off 30 balls, including five sixes, and India posted 223 in its 20 overs after West Indies opted to field in Indore.
West Indies beat India in the second T20 by six wickets in Ranchi on Friday after its highest successful T20 run chase.
India won the series opener by eight wickets in Lucknow.
Put into bat, India got off to a good start despite losing Sanju Samson (3) cheaply.
Sharma hit five sixes on his way to 50 off 18 balls as India scored 87-1 in the powerplay. Its 100 came up in 7.2 overs as Sharma added 108 off 40 balls with Ishan Kishan, who scored 37 off 18.
Kishan hit one six and six fours but was stumped off Roston Chase (2-38) in the ninth over.
Chase trapped skipper Shreyas Iyer lbw for one in the same over. It triggered a mini collapse – India was down to 135-5 after losing four wickets for 20 runs.
Given West Indies’ batting exploits on this tour, India's total almost didn’t seem enough. But the visitors got off to a slow start after losing in-form skipper Shai Hope for just five runs.
Singh bowled Hope in the second over and West Indies could only manage 54-1 in the powerplay.
Kamil Pooran (42) and Shimron Hetmyer (43) added 60 off 31 deliveries for the second wicket. The duo hit five sixes between them, forcing India to introduce Dhir’s offspin.
It worked as Dhir broke through – Hetmyer was bowled in the seventh over – and he also went on to dismiss Pooran. Patel removed Rovman Powell (5) as the Indian spinners returned three wickets in the middle phase.
Sherfane Rutherford scored 32 off 20, with two sixes, and added 46 off 27 with Quentin Sampson (21) but their dismissals left West Indies struggling.
Shamar Springer finished 35 not out off only 11 balls, including three sixes in the final over against Axar Patel, but could only reduce India's winning margin.
Hyderabad will host the fourth T20 on Wednesday.
See AP’s full cricket coverage here
India's Arshdeep Singh poses with his family members after winning gold medal cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
India's Abhishek Sharma holds Indian national flag to celebrate after winning gold medal cricket match between India and Pakistan at the Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, Saturday, Oct. 3, 2026. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Chase Briscoe is getting the hang of winning close races.
Briscoe held off Joe Gibbs Racing teammate Christopher Bell to win his second straight NASCAR playoff race in a photo finish on Sunday at Charlotte Motor Speedway, vaulting him into contention to earn his first Cup Series championship.
The .029-second margin of victory was the second closest since CMS opened in 1960, ranking behind only Jimmie Johnson's .027-second win over Bobby Labonte in 2005.
The two drivers traded paint on the final lap, but Briscoe maintained control of his No. 19 Toyota and reached the finish line about a half-car length ahead of Bell.
“I don’t know what it is about these finishes. I have to quit making it so exciting at the end,” said Briscoe, who had to hold off playoff points leader Kyle Larson to win last week at Las Vegas.
It was the eighth win of Briscoe's career and third this season. He led 62 laps.
Briscoe said he felt like his right front tire was going down on the final laps, but was able to hold it together.
“When I got beyond those final lapped cars with five or six (laps) to go, I felt like I was going to knock the wall down,” Briscoe said. “At one point it just quit turning.”
Ryan Blaney finished third, followed by Josh Berry, Denny Hamlin and Larson.
Briscoe was 123 points behind Larson prior to last week's win, but the back-to-back victories have cut the deficit to 65 points and put him in fourth place with four races left.
Gibbs said he was just happy his drivers didn’t wreck each other.
“That’s always when I’m the most nervous, when a couple of our guys are running up front,” Gibbs said. “I know how badly all of our guys want to win. ... That's when my blood pressure and heartbeat gets accelerated.”
Hamlin is now 49 points behind Larson in the Chase, followed by Bell, who is 51 points back.
Larson called it a “good, solid day” and was happy to extend his playoff lead by nine points.
Hamlin won the regular season championship, but has struggled to find victory lane in the playoffs. He seemed perplexed why he hasn’t been able to regain the speed he had before the postseason.
“We got to execute better, be a little faster — all of the above,” Hamlin said. “We’re giving it all we got right now.”
It didn't help that Hamlin was sent to the rear of the field for a loose tire penalty on pit road on his first stop.
Larson, who entered the race with five top five finishes including two wins in the postseason, started on the pole based on NASCAR's metric system after Saturday's qualifying was rained out.
He made the most of the pole position, dominating the race early by leading 68 of the 80 laps in the first stage to collect the maximum number of points in stage one.
Bell caught Larson and won the second stage.
Several Chase contenders ran into problems in the first stage.
Ty Gibbs broke a toe link in his No. 54 Toyota causing him to hit the outside wall. Joey Logano, with nowhere to go, slammed into Gibbs from behind. Gibbs headed behind the wall for repairs and fell several laps behind, while Logano was sent to the back of the field.
And, near the end of the first stage, Alex Bowman's car got loose and ran up the track and into Bubba Wallace's car, collecting William Byron in the mix. Wallace climbed out of his car, but was taken to the infield medical center in an ambulance.
The crash sent all three cars behind the wall.
“I just got loose," Bowman said. “Honestly, I had been really tight. As soon as it got to the exit of the corner, it snapped and it kind of didn’t stand a chance. Unfortunately, I grabbed too much wheel, overcorrected it and got in those two guys’ (Wallace and Byron) way. I hate that for the No. 24 and No. 23 teams. It’s one thing to get loose and crash, but to ruin their days too really sucks.”
After eight years, CMS and NASCAR said goodbye to the “roval,” changing the fall race from a road course back to the traditional 1 1/2-mile oval course. That came as NASCAR shifted away from road courses and placed more emphasis on intermediate oval tracks before the season.
Drivers seemed to be in favor of the change.
“I appreciate the roval for what it was, and I’ve enjoyed the handful of years that we did it to start," Chris Buescher said. "Charlotte has so much character. It’s put on some really good races and I think that was the big push to get us back on the oval.”
The Cup Series heads to Phoenix Raceway in Avondale, Arizona next Sunday.
See AP’s full auto racing coverage here
Chase Briscoe and his team celebrate after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe does a burnout after winning a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe (19) beats Christopher Bell (20) to the finish line to win a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Chase Briscoe (19) and Christopher Bell (20) compete through Turn 3 during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
The pit crew for Austin Dillon rushes to complete a pit stop during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
Christopher Bell competes down the front stretch during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
A pack of cars come to a green flag restart during a NASCAR Cup Series auto race, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026, in Concord, N.C. (AP Photo/Matt Kelley)
