It was another humiliating result for the Indian cricket team. Led by Hardik Pandya, India lost their 2nd consecutive T20I at the hands of West Indies. At a time when West Indies has plunged into their lowest ever in terms of results in international cricket, losing 2 continuous T20Is has raised alarm bells in the Indian camp.
Despite fielding a strong XI that consists of break-through youngsters, the Indian cricket team couldn’t bag the honours in the 2nd T20I. The future stars of Indian cricket in the form of Ishan Kishan, Shubman Gill and Sanju Samson had horrendous performances as they failed for the 2nd time on the trot.
West Indies stuck to the same playing XI that won them the game in the 1st T20I and that paid rich dividends.
In this article, we take a look at 3 talking points of the 2nd T20I between West Indies and India:
1. Tilak Verma impresses with the bat once again
After having two good seasons with Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL), Tilak Verma has integrated himself well into the international stage. The southpaw scored 39 runs in the 1st T20I and followed it with a sublime 51 run knock in just 41 balls in the 2nd T20I.
He scored 5 fours and 1 six in his innings and had a strike-rate of 124.39. Verma could well push the likes of Sanu Samson, KL Rahul and Ishan Kishan for a spot in India’s middle-order in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
2. Disciplined bowling from West Indies
Having no pressure on them, West Indies once again delivered the goods with the ball. At a time when no one was expecting them to play well, the hosts silently did the job and took down the mighty Indians.
In the 2nd WI vs IND T20I, Akeal Hossein, Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd took 2 wickets each. The other bowlers in the form of Obed McCoy and Jason Holder were quite economical.
3. Nicholas Pooran’s impactful and blistering innings
Fresh from his jaw-dropping 137* runs in the finals of the Major League Cricket (MLC) 2023, Nicholas Pooran once again stole the limelight with his power-packed hitting. The West Indian hard-hitting batter scored 67 runs in just 40 deliveries and was at his supreme best once again.
Notably, Pooran had scored 41 runs in the 1st T20I. The good form of Nicholas Pooran makes West Indies, one of the favourites to clinch off this T20I series.
