Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson’s struggle with the bat continued as India once again struggled to post a winning score in the second T20I against West Indies in Guyana on August 7. Just like the first match, Tilak Varma played some brilliant cricket, scoring 51 runs off 41 deliveries as India posted 152/7 in the first innings.
West Indies' bowlers had a brilliant night, with Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shephard picking up two wickets each. When it came to the chase, the home team stumbled too, but Nicholas Pooran came and changed the complexion of the game with his 67 off 40.
However, there was a late twist as well. Yuzvendra Chahal’s double whammy in the 16th over could have been India’s ticket to victory but skipper Hardik Pandya did not bring him back into the attack as the home team went on to win the match by two wickets and seven balls to spare.
Talking Points from the 2nd T20I between West Indies and India:
Tilak Varma’s impressive form continues
Youngster Tilak Varma had a sensational start to his career in the first T20I and it only got better in the second match as he registered his maiden international half-century. The cricketer has shown a lot of promise and can prove to be a massive asset for the national team in the years to come.
Nicholas Pooran - Cometh the hour, cometh the man
Nicholas Pooran is in remarkable form at the moment. He played a crucial role in MI New York's win the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket and has also helped his team win both the T20I matches so far against India. If he manages to play a similar brand of cricket in the remaining matches, making a comeback will be difficult for India.
Hardik Pandya’s poor captaincy
Despite bowling well and picking up two wickets, Pandya was not up to the mark with his captaincy. The Indian skipper did not bring Chahal back into the attack even though he picked two wickets in the 16th over. Chahal ultimately did not finish his quota, bowling three overs for 19 runs.
India captain Hardik Pandya said:
If am being honest that was a not a pleasing batting performance, we could have batted better. 160+ or 170 would have been a good total. The way he has been batting, becomes very difficult to rotate spinners. 2/2 and the way he batted, took the game quite into their hands. With the current combination we have we will have to trust out top 7 batters to come good and hope the bowlers win you games. We have to find ways to make sure we have the right balance but at the same time batters need to take more responsibility. Left-hander coming at 4 gives us variety. It doesn't feel like it's his second international game.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell said:
It's a very good position to be. Since 2016 we haven't won T20 series. It was deliberate to change the bowlers constantly and give one over spell, especially fast bowlers because it is very hot. When you are batting wrist spin, it is hand as a right-hander. To limit Chahal, Kuldeep and Bishnoi we need left-handers. To have Pooran and Hetmyer is important to counter that.
Player of the Match Nicholas Pooran said:
Satisfied that I performed. Something that I have been looking for in the last couple of years, so be there and finish games. I want to be consistent. I have been working so hard, I have made a lot of mistakes, lost a lot of games for my teams. I want to entertain the fans as much as possible. It's about being positive and confident.
from Cricket News: Latest and Breaking Cricket News & Updates Today | CricTracker.com https://ift.tt/ySInRAL