West Indies v India T20I Series – Combined XI

West Indies managed to be very lucky in the 2-match T20 series against India at Florida. West Indies announced their arrival in the series with a huge total, but only to eventually eke out a one run win in a thrilling encounter. The second match saw West Indies batting lineup fall apart like card castle but the rains favored them as the match was washed out with only 2 overs being bowled in the run chase. The first match was a record-breaking match as it saw the most runs scored in any T20 match. It was also the first instance when a century was scored by batsmen of both the sides. While the tournament was lit up with spectacular centuries in the first match, the second match definitely went in favour of the Indian bowlers. Here is the combined XI of the two sides of the tournament: Evin Lewis (Photo Source: BCCI) Evin Lewis struck a brilliant century in the first match that saw West Indies post a huge total of 245 on the board. He brought up his century in just 48 balls and lit the stadium with 9 sixes and 5 fours. He failed to contribute in the second game but his knock in the first match is enough for him to earn a place in the combined XI of the T20 series. Lewis hit 107 runs in the 2 matches at an average of 53.5 and a spectacular strike rate of 215.68. With 12 fours and 5 sixes to his name, Lewis was certainly a nightmare for the Indian bowlers. Lewis did not let any of the Indian bowlers settle in during the first game and that was the key element of his knock. Rohit Sharma (Photo Source: BCCI) Rohit Sharma started off on a brisk note in the first game and never let the run flow stop. His match presence was perfect as he took calculated risks in the match. The target of 245 was daunting and he lost partners at regular intervals but found an able partner in KL Rahul. He took special liking to Sunil Narine – the premier bowler in the opposition and hit successive sixes to him. He did not let the pressure creep in and neither did he let Narine feel at easy. He reached his half-century in just 22 balls and eventually ended up scoring 62 off just 28 balls with 4 sixes and 4 fours. In the 2nd match too, he looked in good touch before the rains interrupted and washed the game away. Johnson Charles (Photo Source: BCCI) Much before Evin Lewis started his carnage, it was Johnson Charles’ aggression right from the start of the innings in the first match that set the tone for the West Indies onslaught. Charles took a special liking to Mohammad Shami early in the innings to hit him for a six on the very second ball of the match. He ended up with a score of 79 off just 33 balls with 7 sixes and 6 fours. In the second match too, Charles was the only West Indies batter to have played with consistently. He gave a brisk start to his team and scored 43 off 25 balls. He remained the leading run-getter for West Indies in the series with 122 runs at an average of 61 and strike rate of over 210. He hit 9 sixes in the series and packed a punch for sure. KL Rahul KL Rahul. (Photo Source: BCCI) The surprise package and perhaps the find of the season for India this year has been KL Rahul. He bats equally well across all the 3 formats of the game. Coming in to the tournament, KL Rahul was drafted in the side ahead of regular opener Shikhar Dhawan. Although he did not open the innings, his innings in the middle order showed some substance. He reached his personal milestone, a half century, in 27 balls and looked good for more. He raced to a 50-run stand in 22 balls with Rohit and then a fifty run stand with MS Dhoni in 23 balls. Rahul reached his maiden century in T20Is in 46 deliveries. His efforts had almost helped India register the highest successful run chase in the history of T20Is. He was only unlucky to have finished on the losing side. He did not get a chance to bat in the 2nd match. MS Dhoni (WK-Skipper) Indian skipper MS Dhoni and his West Indian counterpart Carlos Brathwaite. (Photo Source: BCCI) In the first match, skipper MS Dhoni walked in a crucial stage when India needed 109 off 49 deliveries. While Rahul’s knock was the anchor knock, Dhoni’s knock was crucial as well. However, Dhoni failed at the crunch time and couldn’t hold on to the nerves as India lost by 1 run. But it was Dhoni’s handy 43 off 25 that got them so close to the target. Despite not being able to finish the match, Dhoni still manages to get a place in the combined XI for his overall brilliance. His captaincy was excellent in the 2nd match. The way he shuffled his bowlers and made good use of his spinners was also commendable. Dhoni was exceptional behind the stumps too as he inflicted a calm stumping of Lendl Simmons in the second game. He also pouched a few catches in the series. Dwayne Bravo (Photo Source: BCCI) The only West Indies pacer to make a mark in the series was Dwayne Bravo. It was his champion heroics that saw West Indies steal a one-run win from the jaws of defeat. India needed only 8 to win off the last over and the best finisher MS Dhoni was at the crease with a well set KL Rahul at the other end. Nobody fancied the chances of West Indies winning, but Bravo did the unthinkable. He successfully defended 8 runs as West Indies won by one run eventually. He got the wicket of MS Dhoni on the last ball of the match that saw West Indies take an unassailable lead of 1-0 in the series. He finished with figures of 2/37 in his 4 overs. He did not get a chance to bowl in the second match. Ravindra Jadeja Ravindra Jadeja.(Photo by Pankaj Nangia/India Today Group/Getty Images) Ravindra Jadeja was smacked for 2 sixes in his first two deliveries of the first match. The southpaw came back strong towards the end to finish with figures of 2/39 in 3 overs. He struck twice in the 16th over dismissing Andre Russell and then following it up with the priced scalp of centurion Evin Lewis. It was his over when he struck twice that put a block to the leakage of runs from the West Indies batters. In the second match, he did not get a chance to bowl his full quota of overs. He bowled just 2 overs and gave 11 runs. He was definitely more economical in the second match and showed signs of improvement from the first game in terms of economy. Also read: Sunil Gavaskar denied entry into the Lauderhill stadium before the second T20I Amit Mishra (Photo Source: BCCI) Amit Mishra missed out on playing in the first match but grabbed his opportunity with both hands in the second match. On the very first ball that he bowled in the match, he got the priced wicket of inform Johnson Charles. He then came back to get rid of Dwayne Bravo and Carlos Brathwaite. The way he disrupted the woodwork of the two batsmen was a delight to watch. Mishra bowled 4 overs and gave away just 24 runs. He bagged 3 wickets and was clearly the pick of the bowlers in the second match. Had he played the first match, the story could have well been slightly different from the original. He gets a place in the combined XI. Ravichandran Ashwin (Photo Source: BCCI) Ravi Ashwin was clearly the best pick among all the bowlers in the first match. He went in for plenty in first two overs – 24 runs to be precise. However, he came back good in his 3rd over – the 12th over of the match – and gave just 4 runs and then followed it up with an 8-run over. He went wicketless in the first match but covered up for it in the second game. In the 2nd match, Ashwin was getting some great assistance from the wicket as he spun his web around the opposition batsmen. In the 3 overs that he bowled, he gave away just 11 runs and bagged 2 wickets. He foxed Lendl Simmons first and then got the big fish Kieron Pollard. He bowled with an economy of as low as 3.67 in the 2nd match. Mohammad Shami (Photo Source: BCCI) While the West Indies pacers were an absolute disappointment in the series, the Indian pacers savoured some pride. Mohammad Shami came back strong in the first match after being taken away by Johnson Charles. He gave India the first breakthrough when he crashed a Yorker on the stumps of Charles. He was expensive in the first match but so were the other bowlers. In the second game, he bagged a wicket in his second over when he dismissed the in-form batsman Evin Lewis cheaply. He was on the expensive side but managed to get a couple of wickets in the game. He gets a place in the combined XI owing to his wicket taking ability. Jasprit Bumrah (Photo Source: BCCI) Jasprit Bumrah was undoubtedly the most successful pacer in the series. He emerged as the leading wicket-taker in the series with 4 wickets to his name at a strike rate of 12. He was absolutely clinical in the second game where he gave just 26 runs in his 4 overs and got 2 scalps under his belt. He dismissed Marlon Samuels cheaply and then yorked Andre Fletcher to bag his second wicket. In the first match, he got two wickets in successive deliveries in the last over and did what he is known to do best. He did not leak runs in the death overs. He got rid of danger looking Kieron Pollard on 22 and then dismissed Lendl Simmons for a duck. In the end, he returned with figures of 2/47 in his 4 overs. Also read: The way the bowlers bowled was brilliant: MS Dhoni

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