India vs West Indies 2019: 3 things we learned from the T20I series

After an underwhelming show in the second T20I at Thiruvananthapuram, Team India recovered by putting up a fantastic performance in the decider at Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

After being put into bat by West Indies, the hosts amassed a massive 240 for 3 in their 20 overs. The trio of Lokesh Rahul, Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli starred for the team with blazing fifties. While Rahul top-scored with 91 from 56 deliveries, Rohit contributed 71 from 34 and Kohli smashed an unbeaten 70 from only 29 balls.

In response, West Indies crumbled to 17 for 3 early in the chase, and even though skipper Kieron Pollard smashed 68 from 39 and Shimron Hetmyer contributed 41 from 24, the team was always playing catch-up. The visitors eventually finished on 173 for 8.

Deepak Chahar and Mohammed Shami impressed with 2 for 20 and 2 for 25 respectively. Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Kuldeep Yadav also claimed two wickets apiece, but went for over 40 runs.

Here are three key takeaways from the India-West Indies T20Is.

#1. India are heavily reliant on top order

The two games that India won in the series were on the basis of their superior batting ability at the top of the order. At Hyderabad, skipper Kohli smashed an unbeaten 94 while Rahul contributed 62 as India easily chased down 208.

At Mumbai, on the back of superlative half-centuries from Rohit, Rahul and Kohli, India posted 240.

However, in the second T20I at Thiruvananthapuram, when all the three failed to cross 20, the hosts struggled badly. Despite being 97 for 2 in the 11th over, they could only post 170 for 7.

While the roaring form of Rahul, Rohit and Kohli is heartening for India, it also raises serious question marks about the team when the trio fail to get going. It is a similar scenario to what played out in the 50-over World Cup, and we all saw how disastrous the semifinal turned out to be there.