Depending on who you are, whether a fan of mighty consistent India or a liker of flamboyant, big-hitting striking West Indies, the soon-to-go-live West Indies vs India T20 series 2019 would bring contrasting feelings to fans on either side of the world.
Beginning with Virat Kohli’s domineering India, the fan, truth be told, would probably be expecting India to make light work of a side that surprisingly, despite collecting two T20 World Cups, hasn’t really been at the top of its game in the shortest format despite most West Indies players in India plays
Particularly in recent times, India has made West Indies seem a bunch of cricketing amateurs, the bowling attack- led by Deepak Chahar, Washington Sundar, also featuring the thrilling Ravindra Jadeja making the Caribbean batsmen stammer like cricketing newborns.
It didn’t make for a particularly beautiful sight that the West Indians even managed a score as low as that 98 at Lauderhill, Florida.
The likes of Rohit and Shikhar, anchored by someone like Virat Kohli- not a hundred percent good news for bowlers ever- proved too much for the Windies bowlers, who were found toothless and drab- despite having the services of Narine, alongside Cottrell and Thomas.
A clean sweep registered a little over 3 months ago albeit without India ever really seeming to break into a sweat, should serve new Caribbean captain, Kieron Pollard, a staunch challenge he and his mates are up against.
Last year too, when India hosted the West Indies, led by Carlos Brathwaite, the travelers were mocked and hammered, the team seeming vulnerable and utterly uncomfortable handling India, in its own den.
5 most Impactful Players in IND vs WI T20 series 2019
With the first contest in the West Indies vs India T20 series 2019 being at just a few hours’ distances- let’s introspect and debate the 5 players who will be key to their sides in a contest one hopes would be fought closely.
1. Nicholas Pooran
One of those batsmen who compel you to sit back and watch the game patiently instead of throwing the remote away having witnessed familiar signs of Windies capitulation, Nicholas Pooran’s great strength is reflected by his ability to read both spin and pace equally well.
Someone who can plug himself in, hold his head high head and shoulders above others amid times of ruin, while Pooran doesn’t possesses the bank of experience, his ability to compile runs when they are hard to come by with the added bonus of changing gears quickly makes him impressive to watch.
While Pooran got off to a start nearly every time he got out to bat against India recently during the August series, what lagged at his end was the impetus to convert a start into something considerable or of big value.
As the fluent leftie returns after a four-match suspension, can he announce his return with some style? The West Indies will desperately need runs off his bat.
2. Deepak Chahar
Disciplined line and length- two of the key values that warrant big success for any talent in a format where it’s quite hard to maintain the same- will form Deepak Chahar’s success mantra, provided the clever exponent of medium pace can bowl to a plan to the West Indies.
A bowler who recently experienced mighty success in the T20 format for his team, India will ride high on Chahar’s ability to put brakes on the batsmen’s scoring and of course, the sheer wealth of his playing experience.
But as an individual who tasted good success against his opponents earlier on, it will be interesting to see if the Windies batsmen can hold the fort against arguably, the most striking of all bowling factors in India’s armory.
3. Kesrick Williams
Kesrick Williams was recently in the red-hold form where the 3 T20s against Afghanistan were concerned. Though it was a bit of misfortune that the medium-pacer emerged on the losing end of the series, his team just failing to put an act together with the bat, his captain Pollard will back the 29-year-old to come good against a team he will expect a tough challenge from.
Williams, among the most diligent deployers of the slower ball, isn’t someone who possesses express pace in his kitty. But using clever variations of pace and the ability to bowl whilst sticking to a line have earned him the rewards in a format his team is usually expected to create magic in.
While he may not have played an awful lot against India, Keswick Williams will look to make the most out of the West Indies vs India series, having missed the 2018 tour to Virat Kohli-land.
4. Virat Kohli
A modern-day chase master, a batsman whose mere presence signals shivers down a bowler’s spine, there really is nothing that Virat Kohli cannot do in the game of cricket.
After sitting out of the Bangladesh T20s, Kohli would be keen to put bat to ball almost immediately as he walks out to the 22 yards- a place he creates magic from, nearly every time our eyes light up seeing him come out to play.
In front of the Caribbean bowling attack, spearheaded by the likes of Jason Holder, Sheldon Cottrell, and guys like Williams- while it can’t be said that Kohli is up against a scary-looking unit.
What would definitely make for good viewing is whether the Windies talents can find a way to control the boisterous and unputdownable stroke-maker.
Kohli would also be keen to build pressure on a side that has only recently experienced the agony of being blanked out by not the strongest of T20 sides, in Afghanistan.
5. Evin Lewis
One of the most exhilarating and entertaining batsmen in all of T20 Cricket not merely in the West Indies, Evin Lewis is someone who doesn’t like being controlled or restricted for runs.
He is a free-flowing batsman, a fantastic and sepia-tinted throwback to the bygone days of West Indian domination, also a hint that the great ‘turnaround’ may just have arrived when each time runs flow from the meat of his bat, like they more often than not, do.
Not someone who likes to buckle under pressure and someone who can destroy bowling attacks with sheer power, one of the driving factors for Pollard’s men in the West Indies vs India T20 series will be whether the left-hander can pull off some punches and counter India’s menacingly good bowling attack.
But truth be told, for that to happen, Lewis will have to watch against his great antagonist: the dot ball balls that he conjures by struggling against spin. Are Chahal and Sundar listening?
Frequently Asked Questions
[sc_fs_faq sc_id=”fs_faq2dsyhuoyq” html=”true” headline=”h2″ img=”” question=”How has the best strike rate in T20I against Windies for India?” img_alt=”” css_class=”” ]Virat Kohli has the highest strike rate of almost 140 against West Indies for India. [/sc_fs_faq]
[sc_fs_faq sc_id=”fs_faq69q76d4h8″ html=”true” headline=”h2″ img=”” question=”West Indies’ best performer in T20I in 2019? ” img_alt=”” css_class=”” ]Kieron Pollard is the best performer for West Indies in T20I 2019 scoring almost 1300 runs from 56 innings at an average of 35.10[/sc_fs_faq]
[sc_fs_faq sc_id=”fs_faqwd9vl1oma” html=”true” headline=”h2″ img=”” question=”What is India’s Probable XI for the West Indies vs India 1st T20 2019?” img_alt=”” css_class=”” ]Here’s the India Probable XI T20 series 2019 – Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar/Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav/Yuzvendra Chahal, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar[/sc_fs_faq]
[sc_fs_faq sc_id=”fs_faqy09dfu5pg” html=”true” headline=”h2″ img=”” question=”What is Windies Probable XI against India for the 1st T20I? ” img_alt=”” css_class=”” ]Here’s the West Indies Probable XI for India 1st T20 2019 – Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (c), Denesh Ramdin (wk), Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Hayden Walsh Jr., Sheldon Cottrell[/sc_fs_faq]