IND v WI: 2nd T20I PREVIEW

It is one of the most one-sided contests in recent times that WI have only won one of the last 13 T20I matches against India, despite at least 2-3 key players resting in all of them. On the other hand, Team India has won 16 t20is out of the 18 games they have played since the t20 wc debacle. They are a different force in bilaterals and there is a reason they have not lost any bilateral series in the last 3 years except for the one in SL where they were struggling to put 11 players on the field due to covid. They have been absolutely ruthless in the format and there wont be any surprises if they continue their winning streak against WI. Going into the 1st game, Ind had few selection headaches. Deepak Hooda who has scored over 180 runs in last 3 t2ois did not find a spot nor did Sanju Samson who had a very good IPL and during SL series the management had stressed how he would be an asset in Australia. In one way it speaks volumes of the India's bech strenght strength. There were few positives for Ind in the 1st game. Rohit Sharma was back among runs and Dinesh Karthik did what he has been doing at no 7 in t20s this year. He has now won 2 MoM awards since his return.

Shimron Hetmyer makes a return to the 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. This is exactly where Ravi Bishnoi comes into the fray.

Probable XI

India

Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel/Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh

West Indies

Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran(c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.

Venue

Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts

Total matches - 10
Matches won batting first - 2
Matches won bowling first - 6

Average 1st Inns scores - 119
Average 2nd Inns scores - 93

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 -6
Batting 1st: Ind leads by 7-4
Batting 2nd: Ind leads by 7 -2

In WI: Ind leads by 3-2
Last 5 T20s: Ind leads by 5-0

Match Ups

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

Hetmyer v Jadeja: 52/1 at 175 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: 14/2 at 66 sr
Mayers v Bhuvi: 24/0 at 150 sr

Powell v Bishnoi: 22/3 at 86 sr

Form Update
(last 5 innings)

Key players & Fantasy Picks

Captain and Vice Captain

Nicholas Pooran: He has scored 310 runs in his last 6 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.

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.

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, 275 runs at a SR of 151 in last 10 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: 497 runs at an average of 41.44 and strike rate of 169 in IPL + Intl cricket this year. He has set many records batting at no 7 or below

Wild Card:

Rohit Sharma top scored for India after a long time in this format. It may just be a beginning of the 2nd wind for the batter from this series.
He has scored over 500 runs against the WI with 7 50+ scores including a 100 in 2018.

Fantasy XI