The Indian top order fall prey to Obed McCoy

In the first match of the T20I series against the West Indies the Indian team looked nearly invincible. But in the very next match the Indian top order once again showed signs of an age old problem- facing left arm quick bowling.

Nicholas Pooran congratulating Obed after his six-for

As an Indian cricket fan, the heart wrenching scene of Shaheen Shah Afridi picking up the top two batters in the opening spell of the 2021 T20I World Cup match will never be forgotten. But that was neither the first time nor the last that the Indian top order struggled against a left-arm pacer. 

In the second match of the T20I series, McCoy has once again brought to light the fact that the Indian batting line-up is still vulnerable to a left-armer with the new ball in hand. 

WI vs IND: An unplayable spell

Nicholas Pooran opted to bowl first in the match after winning the toss. He gave the new ball to McCoy and in the very first ball he repaid his captain's faith with the prized scalp of Rohit Sharma. In the second over of his spell he dismissed Suryakumar Yadav and gave India a shock from which they failed to recover throughout the match.

In his return spell, McCoy picked up four more wickets which included- Jadeja, Karthik and Ashwin. So, he neither allowed India to get a solid start nor did he let them have a strong finish. He bowled 4 overs in the match picking up 6 wickets for just 17 runs, the best figure by an West Indian in T20I cricket.

His spell held India to a paltry score of 139 runs in their 20 overs, which the hosts chased down with 4 balls remaining in the match. 

WI vs IND: What troubled the Indian batters most? 

In order to have a better idea of how McCoy troubled the Indian batter we should take a deeper look at McCoy's line and lengths to the Indian batters. 

Let us look at his bowling on the basis of how he bowled in the two different phases he was used. 

A deeper analysis found :

• He mainly stuck to an outside and outside off stump line. Basically he looked to take the ball away from the Indian batters with the angle.
• He changed his length and the variations and bowled according to the situation of the match. 

To prove the second point let us first take a look at the variation of McCoy's length in the two phases.

Observation: The prime difference that can be noted is that while he bowled length at the beginning towards the end of the innings he tried to be fuller in an attempt to provide less scope for the batter to get underneath the ball. 

Now, let us compare the variations he used in the two phases.

Observations: While McCoy depended mostly on the variations off the pitch and bowled with pace in the Powerplay, in the death overs he looked to change his pace a lot more.

Thus, the general plan from McCoy was to bowl full and get something off the wicket in the early stages. But in the death he looked to bowl with less pace and take away the opportunity from the power hitters to get under the balls. This shows that he understood the match situation perfectly and adapted accordingly. 

As for the Indian team, they need to find a way to play out the left arm quickies efficiently. The team management must find a remedy quick as the T20 World Cup is approaching and the opposition will surely be keeping an eye on one of the strongest contenders for the title. 

Also Read: IND vs WI, 2nd T20I: Obed McCoy's carnage ensures Windies level the series