IND v WI: 3rd T20I PREVIEW

Death, taxes, and Indian batting order getting blown away by a left arm pacer. Monday's story was no different. After an agonising 2 and a half hour delay because of a bizarre luggage delay, Indian team didn't have a pleasent start as skipper Rohit Sharma departed on the very 1st deliver. This was his 4th golden duckin t20is. The wkt had plenty to offer to the fast bowlers and the WI players made full use of it. Obed McCoy registered his career best figures of 6/17 and for the 1st time Indian team was bowled out by the hosts in t20is. Brandon King gave WI a quick start but Indian bowlers kept the Req RR in check by taking wkts at regular intervals. It all boiled down to the last over where WI req 9 runs after a fantastic spell by Arshdeep who has grown leaps and bounds as an end over specialist. He had the best eco for a bowler in death overs in this IPL. The management wanted to experiment and try out Avesh Khan in th end overs instead of Bhuvi who had 2 overs left. The move backfired but keeping the bigger picture in mind it was not a wrong move. Afterall, this a perfect time for all the experimentation before the bigest compertion in October. This is India's only 2nd loss against WI in the last 14 t20is and only their 4th in the last 19 games since the t20 wc. Shreyas Iyer had an amazing run from Nov 2019-March 2022 in t20is with over 700 runs at a SR of 150. But its now time he makes way for Deepak Hooda or Samson at 3 because of his struggles in the format post IPL. He has scored only 42 runs in his last 5t20is.

Shimron Hetmyer makes a return to the Windies side. WI are dearly missing someone like Ewin Lewis at the top and the top order of King, Mayers and Brooks doesn't inspire much confidence though they got few runs against Bangladesh and were decent in the ODI series. The side is filled with medium pace bowling all rounders in Holder, Paul, Shepherd, Smith, Drakes and Powell. They all can hit the ball hard and long but are limited in ability against quality bowling, especially the leg spinners who will look to exploit the glaring weakness of the lower order.
So far, they have had a good year in t20is by winning against Eng and Ban.

Probable XI

India

Rohit Sharma (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk) , Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Avesh Khan, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh

West Indies

Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran(c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Devon Thomas (wk) Odean Smith, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.

Venue

Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts

Total matches - 11
Matches won batting first - 2
Matches won bowling first - 7

Average 1st Inns scores - 121
Average 2nd Inns scores - 98

Highest total recorded - 182/6 (20 Ov) by ENG vs WI
Lowest total recorded - 45/10 (11.5 Ov) by WI vs ENG

Head to Head

Overall: Ind leads by 14 -7
Batting 1st: Ind leads by 7-5
Batting 2nd: Ind leads by 7 -2

In WI: Both teams have won 3 games each.
Last 5 T20s: Ind leads by 4-1

Match Ups

Pooran v Bhuvi: 53/1 at 132 sr
Pooran v Harshal: 53/1 at 143 sr

Hetmyer v Jadeja: 52/2 at 173 sr
Hetmyer v Harshal: 34/0 at 136 sr

Rohit v Holder: 49/2 at 168 sr
Pant v Holder: 56/0 at 147 sr

King v Bhuvi: 24/2 at 88 sr
Mayers v Bhuvi: 26/0 at 130 sr

Powell v Bishnoi: 22/3 at 86 sr
Karthik v McCoy: 21/1 at 175 sr

Form Update
(last 5 innings)

Key players & Fantasy Picks

Captain and Vice Captain

Nicholas Pooran: He has scored 324 runs in his last 7 t20is and was the top scorer of the t20i series held earlier this year with 184 runs. He was also in great touch during the ODI series and scored 142 runs in the 3 ODIs.

Obed McCoy: He registered the 3rd best figures by a left arm pacer in t20is in the 2nd game. And the 2nd best figures for a seamer by a player from a top 10 team.

Hardik Pandya: Since his return from the injury, he has put a brilliant case for being one of the finest all rounders in the t20 format. With captaincy and leading his IPL team to a title victory he has emerged as a more mature player. 487 runs in 2022 IPL and Man of the match performance in the final with the ball, 300+ runs at a SR of 145 in last 12 t20is and a 4 fer against Eng are his overall nos in the last few months.

Budget picks
(Fantasy rating - 8/8.5 points)

Dinesh Karthik: 500+ runs at an average of 40 and strike rate of 167 in IPL + Intl cricket this year. He has set many records batting at no 7 or below

Wild Card:

Shimron Hetmyer: He scored the most runs in death overs in 2021 and 2022 season of the IPL and adapted brilliantly to the new role of finisher. Since 2021, he has scored 351 runs at the end at a SR of 202 with 28 sixes and 44 avg. 2 off games since return wont rule out a possible masterclass at the death given his nos in that phase.

Fantasy XI