Batters in focus as West Indies look to go back-to-back against India
Given India had a longish tail in Tarouba, they could consider bringing in Jaiswal for one of the wristspinners
Big picture: Fearless approach sets the tone
In the first T20I on Thursday, there was a hint of the fearlessness and the freedom with which both West Indies and India batted. Despite losing both opening batters inside three balls of the fifth over, Nicholas Pooran pumped Yuzvendra Chahal for a four and a six off the next three deliveries. Next over, he deposited Axar Patel for a six and four.Form guide
West Indies WWLWL (Last five completed T20Is; most recent first)India LWWLW
In the spotlight: Shepherd and Hardik
Romario Shepherd has faced just 185 balls across 13 innings in T20Is and sent 34 of them for a six or a four. That's a balls per boundary ratio of 5.44, which fits a player who usually bats at No. 6 or lower. He has a strike rate of 205.88 in the last five overs in T20Is this year, the second-best for any batter to have faced at least 30 deliveries in that phase. While he managed just four from six balls on a used pitch against India, his two previous T20I knocks were an unbeaten 44 off 22 and another unbeaten 41 off 18 - both against South Africa in March 2023. If Shepherd can keep this form going, then he all but becomes a shoo-in ahead of next year's T20 World Cup.Team news: How do India shorten their tail?
West Indies wouldn't want to tinker with a winning combination, especially since one more victory would take them close to a series win.Pitch and conditions: Rain expected
Two of the last five T20Is at Providence Stadium in Guyana have been washed out. The scores batting first in the three completed games were 146, 157 and 163, with the chasing team winning twice. Going by that trend, prepare for more middling scores and more rain.Stats and trivia
- With a minimum of 40 wickets while playing for Full Members in T20Is, only four have an average less than 15, and an economy rate under seven. Kuldeep is one of them.
- Kyle Mayers averages only 20.81 as opener in T20Is. That is the second-lowest for any West Indies batter to have opened at least 20 times in the format.
- West Indies and India had played a T20I at Providence in 2019 too. But no member from the visitors' playing XI from that game is part of the squad for the ongoing T20I series.
Quotes
"This series will be decided on how the West Indian batters bat spin in those middle overs. If we bat spin good during the middle overs, then we have lot of batters and a lot of power in the back end… That makes left-handers - [Shimron] Hetmyer, [Nicholas] Pooran and Kyle Mayers - very important."West Indies captain Rovman Powell states what could be key to their success
India seamer Arshdeep Singh is all praise for newcomer Tilak Varma
Himanshu Agrawal is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo