Lucknow: The misery has seemed never-ending for the West Indies and India would look to ensure that the script doesn’t change when the two sides clash in the second T20I here, Tuesday.
India’s four-match T20 losing streak against the West Indies ended Sunday in Kolkata. And in the penultimate game of what has been a disastrous tour for the visitors, India would be favourites to lock the series in their favour.
With the win at the Eden Gardens, India managed to better their head-to-head record against the reigning world T20 champions to 5-3 now from nine exchanges between 2009 and 2017.
It was the first T20 for which India dropped MS Dhoni, the colossus whose batting form has been on the wane but the cricketing brain and reflexes behind the stumps remain assets for the team.
Rohit Sharma is leading the side in regular captain Virat Kohli’s absence and the 31-year-old and usually he has thrived in responsibility. But Sunday was a rare failure for the Mumbaikar and he would look to make up for that with a big knock Tuesday.
Besides Rohit, opener Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, the young Rishabh Pant, and Manish Pandey also had a bad day in office in the series-opener.
But come Tuesday, Lucknow, which is hosting its first international match at the newly-built Ekana Stadium, would be eager to see a more dominant performance from the home team, one that’s befitting the gulf in quality between the two sides.
On the bowling front, left-arm chinaman Kuldeep Yadav stole the limelight, while left-arm pacer Khaleel Ahmed and all-rounder Krunal Pandya were economical. Pacers Experienced Umesh Yadav and Jaspreet Bumrah went for runs and they would aim for a much better show on Tuesday.
West Indies, on the other hand, would be desperate to return home with some positivity at the end of a two-month long series in which they lost both the Test and ODI series.
The return of big names such as Kieran Pollard and Darren Bravo failed to make any significant impact as West Indies produced a below-par batting effort Sunday.
Andre Russell’s injury, which ruled him out of the series, has also dented their chances. Carlos Braithwaite was impressive with the ball but the skipper also needs to inspire his team with some significant contributions with the bat.
Young pacer Oshane Thomas, who made his debut in Kolkata, troubled the Indian openers with his pace upfront but he needs support from the likes of Keemo Paul and others.