3 areas of concern for India from the 2nd T20I vs West Indies
Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran threatened to take the game away from India, but the hosts held their nerve at the death to secure an eight-run win over West Indies in the second T20I at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Friday, February 18.
With the win, India took an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series and gave themselves some breathing room to try out new players in the final game. But it wasn't all smooth sailing for the Men in Blue as the match went right down to the wire.
Here are three areas of concern for India from their series-sealing win in the second T20I against West Indies.
#3 Ishan Kishan is running out of time to prove his worth
Since smashing 56 off 32 in his T20I debut against England back in March 2021, Ishan Kishan has failed to deliver in the format for India. The left-hander has scores of 4, 20*, 4, 29, 35 and 2, with his strike rate in a few of these innings hurting the team's chances.
Kishan has been a little too inconsistent while opening the batting. Although he has no notable weaknesses against either spin or pace, the youngster has found shot-making difficult a little too often for the team's liking. The pattern first manifested itself during a miserable IPL 2021 season with the Mumbai Indians, and has now made its way to the international stage.
Kishan is immensely talented and will eventually come good for India, but he's running out of time to prove his worth to a highly competitive side. With players like Ruturaj Gaikwad waiting in the wings and KL Rahul set to return to the fold at some point in the near future, he won't get too many opportunities to nail down a spot.
#2 India cannot afford to play both Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar
This was probably clear after the first T20I too, but India decided to give their new-ball pairing of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Deepak Chahar another run out in the middle. And while the duo were decent in the powerplay and didn't give the West Indies batters too many run-scoring opportunities, it's clear that they can't play together in India's first-choice T20I playing XI.
Two similar bowlers whose influence outside the powerplay is suspect, Bhuvneshwar and Chahar don't have the extra pace to trouble quality opposition batters. While the former has been in a poor run of form over the last year or two, the Chennai Super Kings' INR 14-crore signing was taken to the cleaners in the two overs he bowled outside the field restrictions in the second T20I.
With world-class bowlers like Mohammed Siraj and Avesh Khan on the bench, India need to break up the Bhuvneshwar-Chahar pairing. The T20 World Cup will be held in Australia this year, and the Men in Blue can't afford two military medium pacers leading their attack.
#1 India were sloppy in the field in the second T20I
Nicholas Pooran was dropped in the first T20I by Ravi Bishnoi off Yuzvendra Chahal's bowling, and although the Windies batter scored a fifty, India managed to hold their nerve and clinch the win. The exact same pattern repeated itself in the second T20I, with Bishnoi shelling a regulation catch with Pooran on 21 and letting the batter notch up another half-century.
To make matters worse, Bhuvneshwar Kumar dropped a high return catch off Rovman Powell, who put the Indian bowlers to the sword with a breathtaking display of power-hitting. The pacer made amends with a splendid penultimate over, but he may not be so lucky the next time he squanders such an opportunity.
It's only a matter of time before India's fielding comes back to bite them. They need to take the chances they are offered, especially against quality opposition batters.