India vs West Indies, 2nd T20I: Preview, Dream11 and more
The Indian cricket team beat West Indies by six wickets in the first T20I held in Hyderabad on Friday. And now, the focus shifts to the second encounter of the three-match series to be held on Sunday. A win will hand India a T20I series victory against the West Indies for the second time this year. Here is the match preview.
On Friday, India claimed their seventh straight T20I victory over the visitors. A victory will help India win their second successive T20I series at home. Also, many fringe players can then get a chance in the final T20I. The victory on Friday helped India lead their preparations well for the T20 World Cup to be held in 2020. Therefore, Virat Kohli will seek momentum.
India will need to make a call regarding Washington Sundar, who hasn't quite delivered the wickets. The management may get in Kuldeep Yadav in his place. Meanwhile, an in-form Manish Pandey could be a solution for Shivam Dube in the lower middle order. The rest of the team looks sorted. India's threats will be in the form of Kohli, KL Rahul and Yuzvendra Chahal.
West Indies showed enough character in the first match by scoring 207/5. However, the bowling was a let down for Kieron Pollard's side. The bowling unit gave away 23 runs in extras and that's one area that needs to be addressed. Kesrick Williams conceded runs aplenty and could lose his place. It remains to be seen whether wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran makes a return.
We go with Evin Lewis and Rahul as the openers of the Dream11 side. Both were terrific in the first match. Virat Kohli (captain) scored 94* on Friday and will lead the charge. Shimron Hetmyer and Rishabh Pant are the choices in the middle order. Vice-captain Pollard, Jason Holder and Ravindra Jadeja are the all-rounders. Sheldon Cottrell, Chahal and Deepak Chahar are the bowlers.
The match will be held at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram. Only one T20I has been played here with India beating New Zealand in 2017. The pitch will assist bowlers, whereas, batsmen need to be patient in scoring the runs. The match will be telecast live on Star Sports Network. It is scheduled for a 7:00 PM IST start.
