After registering a narrow win over the visiting Indian side in the first T20I, West Indies will be looking to extend their lead to 2-0 when they take on the visitors in the second T20I of the five-match series at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Saturday.
The hosts delivered a superb bowling performance in the first match, especially in the death overs. India were cruising towards victory as they needed just 37 runs to win off the final five overs, with six wickets in hand. But the Caribbean bowlers did a superb job as they claimed five wickets and leaked just 33 runs to secure a four-run win.
India, on the other hand, can blame only themselves for the loss. The bowlers did a superb job of restricting West Indies to 149, but the batters didn't deliver. Both openers, Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan, got dismissed for single-digit scores. Apart from Tilak Varma, who smashed 39 off just 22 deliveries on debut, no other batter looked at ease against the Caribbean bowlers.
Apart from a 39-run stand between Varma and Suryakumar Yadav, and a 36-run stand between Hardik Pandya and Varma, there was no substantial partnership in the Indian innings that could help them chase the target. India will now look to deliver an improved batting performance in the second T20I to level the series.
Probable Playing XIs
West Indies
Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell (c), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy.
India
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Mukesh Kumar.
Key Players
Tilak Varma: The left-handed batter delivered a superb performance on debut in the first T20I. He scored 39 runs off 22 deliveries and will be looking to convert his start into a big score in this match.
Nicholas Pooran: The explosive batter scored an unbeaten century in the Major League Cricket Final recently, and he carried his form forward into the last T20I as he smashed 41 off just 34 deliveries. He will be looking to deliver another good performance in this match.
Match Prediction
India might have lost the first T20I, but that was quite a narrow defeat. Their squad has the talent and quality to bounce back strongly, and they are likely to do that in this game. They will start as the favourites to win this contest.