IND vs WI | Windies still search for balance against dominant India

After winning a convincing game in the first T20I fixture of the series, India will be looking to continue their run - albeit with the few forced changes in their line-up.

The second T20I match, once again will be played in the Eden Gardens Kolkata under the floodlights and it is possible that they would not have the services of Deepak Chahar and Venkatesh Iyer who were hit in the last game. While Iyer returned to play a fantastic cameo during the chase, there has been no update regarding the conditions of Chahar.

However, India will be confident with what they have in their reserves against a team that has not done the basics right throughout the tenure of the tour.

Windies, playing in the subcontinent, half a year away from the next T20 World Cup, are struggling to manoeuvre spin. In the first game, they got stuck in the first 10 overs of the game and it took the brilliance of Nicholas Pooran to bail them out of the situation.

Windies need to dig deep and figure out very quickly what their best combination is going into the T20 World Cup and who are their best assets that can shine against a team like India.

Match Details

India vs West Indies, 2nd T20I

Date - 18 February, Friday

Time - 7 PM IST

Venue - Eden Gardens, Kolkata

Broadcast - Star Sports Network

Pitch & Weather Report

When you are playing in Kolkata at this time of the year, the weather prevails over the pitch. Windies captain Kieron Pollard got into a scuffle with the umpire in the last game over the conditions of the ball in the second innings. The dew was so much on the night that Windies players found it quite difficult to bowl.

If that is the case once again, Pollard will do well to win the toss and bowl first. On the last day, it did grip the slightest bit on the Eden pitch, but that type of assistance would be minimal for the bowler.

The pitch is once again expected to be a slow turner that would favour the batsmen for the larger part of the second innings.

Team News

India

Here is the interesting bit. India have players injured and India have trouble with form. Ishan Kishan probably played his worst knock in international colours the other night, but there is a lot of time before one can actually write him off.

Virat Kohli looked fantastic for his brief innings of 17, but let’s call it what it was - brief.

Sharma acknowledged the presence of Shreyas Iyer in the pre match press conference but stated that India need someone in the top 4 or 5 who can actually roll their arms over. 

If that is the case, India can call up Shardul Thakur for Venky while Deepak Chahar could make way for Avesh Khan - a bowler fans really want to see.

Probable Playing XI

Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer/Shardul Thakur, Avesh Khan, Bhubaneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal

West Indies

Jason Holder will possibly be coming back into the game, which means puts West Indies in a very odd position in terms of balance. Their weakest T20 player Roston Chase performed the best among them last night and there is no way that you can leave out an asset just like that.

Windies - if they choose to tweak their batting order a little bit, can send Fabian Allen up and drop Holder lower down the order -a place where he can be effective, but this will mean that one among Romario Shepherd, Odeon Smith or Sheldon Cottrell would have to walk out.

Both Shepherd and Smith bring batting attributes with them and it is unlikely that the visitors will reduce their batting order after repeated failures. It will be interesting to see how they accommodate both Holder and Chase in the line-up and who they end up sacrificing on the day.

Probable Playing XI

Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Odeon Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell

CE Fantasy XI

Nicholas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Rohit Sharma (C), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav (VC), Fabian Allen, Roston Chase, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Sheldon Cottrell