India losing to the West Indies two consecutive times in T20 international format is something that has happened for the first time in 12 years. Shockingly, it has happened under the captaincy of Hardik Pandya, a player who can turn the tides at any moment in this game. Not to forget, having a hitter like Suryakumar Yadav by his side was only supposed to add strength to the squad.
There are many things that one can decipher in defeat. Among many things, the top pointers here are the flop show that put up the Indian openers and middle order relying heavily on their skipper and Sanju Samson. Another factor that the squad may want to consider is pulling SKY’s position down by 2 positions for his better performance. Indian openers have put forward a gameplay that forced Yadav to come out and play as an opener. The right-handed batter is more of a middle-order shooter.
As for the openers, their flop show momentum dates back to the first T20 versus West Indies, where they collectively put up a total of 9 runs. Ishan Kishan attempted to bounce back in the following fixture but in vain. His poor judgment for a run made Yadav pay a heavy price. He had to go back to the dugout just for a single. This happened in the 4th over, with India again losing 2 wickets in the powerplay.
Gill and Kishan were way below the required strike rate against a team that can dominate the format whenever it wants to. This is coming at a time when they have failed to make it to the big stage of the upcoming ICC World Cup.
Romario Shepherd caused trouble in the first installment. He did that again in the second installment. India struggled against his spell despite hitting him for a higher economy. Tilak Varma gave his best performance of the series. While he first missed his 50-run mark by 11 runs, he mailed that score in the second T20. Sanju Samson had his chance to showcase why he deserves to be on the team. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are out of the picture. Seniors are on a break due to load management.
But his first performance was just 12-off-12 runs, and that came before a 7-off-7 performance. Providence Stadium in the Indies is not necessarily a field where batters enjoy their game. However, it is still not a pitch where experienced batters can take a hit for such a low score. Take it from Nicholas Pooran, who swooped in with 67 runs off 40 balls.
India was only able to bag 152 runs for the loss of 7 wickets. They were favorites to win on the legal cricket betting sites.
The 16th over of the second innings appeared as if they would again make a comeback. It was ultimately Powell’s men who clinched the event by 2 wickets at 155 runs. The third T20, or the decider of the series, goes live on August 08, 2023, at 8 pm IST.
