India vs Windies, 2nd T20I, Preview: Visitors hope for change in luck in 'Luck'now

It was an unusual start to the highly anticipated T20I series between India and Windies. Runs were expected to flow at the Eden Gardens but what turned out was a complete anti-climax. The visitors posted only 109 runs after being invited to bat first and then India took almost 18 overs to gun down the total. To make things worse, even the Lucknow curator, where the second T20I will be played, has said that even this game will be a low-scoring affair.

If his comments are anything to go by, the pitch will definitely the slower bowlers and the pacers with variations. It will be interesting to see how both the teams react to this situation. India will be happy with the things progressed in the series opener. Their middle-order bailed the team out of the hole after a rare top-order failure while the bowlers set things up nicely up front.

Windies skipper Carlos Brathwaite, however, felt that the youngsters will only learn from this experience. They will definitely look to come hard at the home side in order to level the series. Their batting has been a problem in the whole tour and to compete against the Men in Blue, the people with the willow have to score runs. The bowling attack has done decently and they are tipped to continue in the same vein.

Team Combinations

India

India have no reason to change their line-up but Umesh Yadav might make way for Bhuvneshwar Kumar who was ruled out of the last match at the eleventh hour. The rest of the team should remain the same after the debutants performed well. Shahbaz Nadeem will have to wait for his elusive international debut and has to be termed unlucky as Krunal Pandya offers more to the team with his all-round skills.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed.

Windies

Windies are likely to opt for Obed McCoy’s variations ahead of Keemo Paul who leaked runs in the low-scoring affair. Though their batsmen will have to put up runs on the board and the responsibility should be taken by Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope. The experienced Kieron Pollard should deliver with the bat and the onus will be on him to hold the innings together and finishing as well.

Probable XI: Denesh Ramdin (wk), Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell, Carlos Brathwaite (c), Fabian Allen, Khary Pierre, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas.

Focus will be on

Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Shikhar Dhawan is getting out very early to everyone’s liking. With the World Cup coming up, his form in the lead up to the tournament will be crucial for India. He was brilliant in the Asia Cup and will need to replicate the similar kind of show in Lucknow which is hosting its maiden international match. If Dhawan gets going in this game, the hosts will seal the series with one game to go.

Kieron Pollard (Windies)

The veteran of this format, Kieron Pollard couldn’t contribute anything to the team’s cause in the first match. His form is important if the Caribbean side is expecting to level the series. In case, he delivers with the ball as well, then it will be a bonus for Windies. It will be interesting to see if he lives up to the reputation of the hard-hitter.

Head to Head

Matches – 7 | India won – 3 | Windies won – 3 | NR – 1

Stat Attack

20 – Shikhar Dhawan needs only 20 runs to complete 1000 runs in the T20I format. He will become the sixth Indian to achieve such feat.

Broadcast Details

TV – Star Sports 1  and Star Sports 1 HD

Live Streaming – Hotstar

Match Timings – 19:00 IST

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