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Batters in focus as West Indies look to go back-to-back against India
Kaieteur News – (Cricinfo) -In the first T20I on Thursday, there was a hint of the fearlessness and the freedom with which both West Indies and India batted. Despite losing both opening batters inside three balls of the fifth over, Nicholas Pooran pumped Yuzvendra Chahal for a four and a six off the next three deliveries. Next over, he deposited Axar Patel for a six and four.
Romario Shepherd has been one of the fiercest strikers at the death. (Associated Press)
Fast forward to the run chase where India too lost both openers early; they were scoring at less than a run a ball two deliveries into the final over of the powerplay when debutant Tilak Varma pulled back-to-back sixes to show us just a glimpse of the future.
Both teams are filled with eye-catching hitters and the T20 format offers the perfect stage to entertain only it was the bowlers who shone the brightest. India’s spinners did not let the odd boundary throw them off their plans and West Indies’ seamers used their change of pace to pull off a fine defence.
The last time West Indies beat India in successive T20Is was in 2016. That only four runs separated the teams in Tarouba perhaps points towards a closely contested five-match series.
Romario Shepherd has faced just 185 balls across 13 innings in T20Is and sent 34 of them for a six or a four. That’s a balls per boundary ratio of 5.44, which fits a player who usually bats at No. 6 or lower. He has a strike rate of 205.88 in the last five overs in T20Is this year, the second-best for any batter to have faced at least 30 deliveries in that phase.
While he managed just four from six balls on a used pitch against India, his two previous T20I knocks were an unbeaten 44 off 22 and another unbeaten 41 off 18 – both against South Africa in March 2023. If Shepherd can keep this form going, then he all but becomes a shoo-in ahead of next year’s T20 World Cup.
Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma have a chat. (AFP/Getty Images)
Contrast that with Hardik Pandya’s recent form. When he first came into the side, he was a finisher. Now he seems to prefer batting up the order. But it’s not entirely working. Since the T20Is against New Zealand last November, India’s short-format captain strikes at only 106.31 in the middle overs, hitting just one out of the 95 balls he has faced for six. If that’s him biding his time for the death, then a strike rate of 119.23 doesn’t quite make the job well done territory. All but set to lead a refreshed and a much younger T20I side of India in the medium term, he will be keen to show the way before it gets too late.
West Indies wouldn’t want to tinker with a winning combination, especially since one more victory would take them close to a series win.
West Indies (probable): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell (capt), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.
Playing three spinners in Tarouba left India with four No. 11s. So even as they needed only 37 from the final 27 balls, once the last recognised batter – Axar- fell it became a tall ask, though Arshdeep Singh did give West Indies a scare. That might force India to play Yashasvi Jaiswal, the only spare batter in the squad, leading to a toss up between Kuldeep and Chahal.
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (capt), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar.
Pitch and conditions: Rain expected
Two of the last five T20Is at Providence Stadium in Guyana have been washed out. The scores batting first in the three completed games were 146, 157 and 163, with the chasing team winning twice. Going by that trend, prepare for more middling scores and more rain.
- Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Jason Holder, Johnson Charles (wk), Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Rovman Powell (capt), Shimron Hetmyer
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