IND vs WI 2nd T20I: PREVIEW

India's winning streak in T20Is continues as Rohit and Bishnoi lead the team to victory against the Men in Maroon. With figures of 4-0-17-2, the debutant leg spinner proved to be the match's best bowler and earned Man of the Match honors. Put into bat, West Indies had another blow hot blow cold start on the batting front, with Kyle Mayers going after everything in the Powerplay overs after losing a wicket in the very first over as if his body parts had a mind of their own responding to the delivery individually.

Nicholas Pooran was the standout perfomer again just like he was in the series against England when he held one end and took the occasional risks. He was given a reprieve by Bishnoi very early in the innings when he unknowingly stepped on the rope after taking a catch. India's legspin duo broke WI's middle order when the likes of Chase, Powell, Hosein could have managed much more than a combined 16(25). 

India was once again off to a flying start courtesy Rohit Sharma who Top-scored with a strike rate in excess of 200. His partner on the other hand, had an outing to forget as he played the slowest innings by an Indian with a minimum of 40 deliveries. Just like how India managed to toe visitor's middle order with spin, Roston Chase replicated it for WI. He returned impressive figures of 4-0-14-2. At one point, it looked like West Indies are back in the game with the back to back wickets of Ishan and Virat but Suryakumar and Venkatesh finished off things without breaking a sweat.

There may be few injury concerns for India going into the 2nd T20I. Deepak Chahar and Venkatesh Iyer took a blow on their hands while fielding. Siraj could come in for Chahar and India might give Shreyas Iyer a chance in place of Venkatesh. West Indies missed Jason Holder in the first game who was the Man of the Series in the England T20I series in a month back. It will be interesting to see with what combination India goes into the 3rd T20I if they seal the series. There have been huge demands by fans for Ruturaj Gaikwad and Avesh Khan in the XI. 

Probable XI

India: Rohit Sharma, Kishan/Ruturaj, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas/Venkatesh, Harshal Patel, Shardul Thakur, Siraj/Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Bishnoi/Bhuvi

West Indies: Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Fabian Allen, Odean Smith, Sheldon Cottrell

 
Head to Head
Overall: India leads 11-6
Last 5 matches: India leads 4-1
Under Rohit's Captaincy: India leads 4-0

Match Ups

India
Rohit vs Odean: 21 runs off 5 balls with no dismissals
Rohit vs Holder: 11 runs off 8 balls with 1 dismissal
Kohli vs Cottrell: 23 runs off 22 balls with 2 dismissals
Kohli vs Holder: 49 runs off 21 balls with no dismissals
Pant vs Cottrell: 16 runs off 16 balls with 2 dismissals

West I ndies
Mayers vs Chahal: 0 runs off 2 balls with 1 dismissal
Pollard vs Bhuvi: 57 runs off 35 balls with 1 dismissal
Pooran vs Chahal: 43 runs off 19 balls with no dismissal

Key Players

West Indies

Jason Holder: The all rounder was man of the series against England with 15 wickets at an economy rate of 7.78 which included one 4-wicket and one 5-wicket haul. He is also recorded a unique feat of scalping 4 wkts in 4 deliveries. He missed out in the 1st T20I after being hit on the chest and was rested as a precautionary measure.

Rovman Powell: Promoted to no 3 in the last series against England, Powell scored a scintillating 107. But he has struggled against leg spinners throughout his career. India will once again bring Chahal and Bishnoi to counter him. The trio of Powell, Romario Shepard and Odean Smith is one of the most explosive lower order one can get.

Nicholas Pooran: Batting has been a major letdown for the West Indies both in ODIs and T20Is for a while. The onus will be once again on wicketkeeper batsman Nicholas Pooran in the middle order along with the experienced Kieron Pollard. Pooran ended up as the highest run scorer against England with 164 runs. He has scored 383 runs at a strike rate of 133 in his last 11 innings. 

India

Rohit Sharma. Not just his consistency but the rate at which he his scoring at the top is what has been more impressive. In the last 7 innings, Sharma has accumulated 359 runs at a whopping SR of 161.71. He has scored 559 runs against West Indies at an average of 43.

Harshal Patel: He has been bestowed with the responsibility of bowling 2 overs at the death, an area where he was exceptional in the IPL and in the series against NZ. The batsmen have no clue of his off cutters and slower ones. He gets more dip than other bowlers which forces the batsman to committ early since they can't pick him from his hand.

Ravi Bishnoi: It was a dream debut for the boy from Jodhpur when he became MOM on debut with figures of 4-0-17-2. The likes of Powell and Pollard have struggled against leg spinners as the numbers suggest. 8 overs of spin between him and Chahal will once again decide the course of the game.

Form Update
(last 5 T20I innings)

Trivia

• India has won 91% of the T20Is while chasing since 2020 (highest by a team)
• In the last 7 innings, Rohit has crossed 30 on each occasion (which is joint-longest streak record in T20Is)
• Rohit Sharma, as captain, has never hit a Six in a losing cause.

Fantasy XI

Top Captaincy Picks

• Rohit Sharma
• Nicholas Pooran
• Harshal Patel
• Ishan Kishan