India seeks to extend lead, as the hosts vie for their first win of the tour

If the opening round of the T20I series was just the opening salvo to the Islanders from the visiting Indians, the second round of the fray can be a concrete statement for the remaining three contests. As Warner Park gears up for the second contest of the fray between India and West Indies, the hosts will be desperate to wring out something from a tour that has failed to produce a single win in their favor.

India rode on a dominant all-round showing that starred a couple of impressive batting displays, featuring the likes of Rohit Sharma and a late blitzkrieg from Dinesh Karthik that would propel the visitors to a momentous 190 on the board. The Indian bowlers made quick work of the hosts with a collective display of brilliance that would leave the Windies short of the promised land by a staggering 68 runs.

As the party arrives at Warner Park, it is going to be an explosive contest with the Islanders seeking amends while Team India will be hoping to secure a second win in the series that can be a reverberating statement against a T20 juggernaut.

The Men in Blue might have to put some focus on their batting lineup that trembled too frequently against the marauding Windies, despite Rohit Sharma’s early brilliance. Suryakumar Yadav had a decent opening partnership with the Indian skipper but his fall triggered an unimaginable collapse that will need some extra care from Rahul Dravid to be averted for a second time.

Despite being deemed as one of the major striking powerhouses in the shortest format of the game, the Caribbean batting line-up has fallen short in the last couple of games, despite plenty of promising signs in the first 2 ODIs.

Nicholas Pooran has been the solitary baton of resistance while the others have chipped in with bits and pieces. If West Indies are to challenge the Indian powerhouse, they will need a lot more than a single-man show, trying to stave off the best T20I team in the world at the moment.

Match details:

West Indies vs India (2nd T20I, T20I series)

Warner Park, St. Kitts

1st August 2022

8:00 PM IST

Head-to-head:

Total matches: 21

India: 14

West Indies: 6

Stats:

Virat Kohli’s 29-ball-70* against West Indies remains the innings with the highest strike rate where a batter has scored a half-century in a T20I knock in the Indo-Caribbean rivalry.

Rohit Sharma holds the record of hitting the highest number of sixes against West Indies for India in the shortest format of the game with 35 maximums next to his name.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were the first pair to notch up a century partnership in T20Is in the Indo-Caribbean rivalry that came at Mirpur in 2014 with the duo putting up 104 runs for the 2nd wicket.

Squads:

West Indies:

Nicholas Pooran (Captain), Rovman Powell (Vice Captain), Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.

India:

Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.