Match Details
- Venue: Greenfield International Stadium, Thiruvananthapuram
- Date: 8th December 2019
- Time: 7:00 PM IST
- League: West Indies tour of India
India Preview
India has started the T20I series with a win. Virat Kohli made his comeback in the T20I set-up heard out loud. While Kohli scored his career-best 94*, KL Rahul scored his 2nd consecutive fifty. Though Rohit Sharma was out early in the chase of 208 runs, KL Rahul and Virat Kohli anchored the innings with a 100-runs partnership in 61 balls. Rishabh Pant’s cheap dismissal didn’t impact Indian innings in a big way since Kohli was on the crease.
However, in the case of the top 3 getting out early in the first 10 overs, Rishabh Pant would have a bigger role to play at number 4. Shreyas Iyer had found his form in the last T20I against Bangladesh. He would be keen on proving his mettle against the WIndies in the next match. Deepak Chahar who impressed everyone with the ball in the last few series was miserable in the 1st T20I against West Indies. While he was the most expensive bowler for India, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was wicketless for 36 runs. India would like their bowlers to bounce back in this match and pick more wickets early in the innings.
West Indies Preview
West Indies dominated the first half of the game with some impressive knocks from their batsmen. 40 off 17 balls from Evin Lewis ensured Windies had crossed 60-runs in the power-play. Shimron Hetmyer sacred a fifty at number 4 while Kieron Pollard continued his form scoring 37 off 19 balls at number 5. Pollard is the most experienced in the Windies batting line-up and has played a lot of cricket in IPL.
Jason Holder also chipped in quick 24 off 9 balls towards the end finishing the Windies innings on a high. While Windies would go into this match with a confident batting line-up, the fact that they failed to defend a 200 plus total is a big concern. Hayden Walsh bowled only 2 overs and conceded 19 without a wicket. He could get more overs since Kesrick Williams was expensive conceding 60 off 3.4 overs without a wicket. Sheldon Cottrell as the only economical bowler with figures of 1 for 24 in his spell. Windies need a better bowling effort if they’re to get through India’s top 3.
Match Prediction
India to win the match
India has a formidable top 3 and with Kohli and Rahul in great form, India is in a strong position to chase any total. Windies bowlers have less experience in subcontinent and would find it difficult to get it right in the shorter format. As a result, the competition between Indian batsmen and Windies bowlers would see India emerge victorious.
Fantasy Team Tips
- Rishabh Pant looked in good touch in the last match and would a good choice in the fantasy team.
- Virat Kohli and KL Rahul are in great form and also realise the importance of their innings.
- While Hetmyer and Evin Lewis would aim at continuing their form and score even better in the top 3, Kieron Pollard remains the best finisher for Windies.
- Chahal and Jadeja had better economies as compared to other bowlers and were also successful with wickets. These two have more experience of bowling in the T20I and picking up wickets at crucial times.
Fantasy Team Prediction
- Wicket-Keeper – Rishab Pant
- Batsmen – Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer
- All-rounders – Ravindra Jadeja, K Pollard
- Bowlers – Y Chahal, B Kumar, S Cottrell
- Captain – V Kohli
- Vice-Captain – S Iyer