A new look Team India suffered an upset at the hands of West Indies by 4 runs in the first T20I in Trinidad, in a match that was decided in the very last ball. West Indies had to toil hard and persevere with both bat and ball before the Indian batsman submitted on a dry pitch which got slower as the match progressed.
West Indies went 1-0 up in the series leaving India on a path of self-reflection on their performance. The Windies managed a score of 149 on the back of a blitz from Nicholas Pooran and skipper Rovman Powell, despite not scoring a single boundary in the last three overs. In reply, Indian batters struggled to score on a slow track and fell short by 4 runs, providing some respite to the West Indies who have had barely any success against India.
Both the teams had to pay the penalty for slow over rate, with India bowling one over and West Indies bowling two of their final overs with 5 fielders inside the circle.
Indian Bowling Keep the Hosts at Bay
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat on a slow pitch which offered plenty of assistance to the bowlers. The Indian spin twins – Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav bowled frugal overs not letting the West Indian power hitters break free. Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King smashed Axar Patel and Mukesh Kumar for a few boundaries, but the Indian bowlers used the conditions to their advantage to pull the West Indies back in the slog overs.
Top Order Fails, Middle Order Trembles
In reply, the Openers struggled to negotiate the spin of Akeal Hosein and Obed Mccoy who used the conditions to their advantage by bowling slow in the air and using cutters to mix up the pace. India lost both its openers in the powerplay trying to break free and play big shorts.
In walked the debutant Tilak Varma who made his intentions clear by smashing Alzarri Joseph for two sixes in the first few balls he faced. Tilak was the only player in the lineup who scored freely and struck at over 150, before falling to Obed McCoy. Skipper Hardik Pandya and Sanju Samson stitched up a partnership, but both of them fell in the same over, which meant that India’s long tail was exposed. A few hits from Axar and Arshdeep couldn’t do the job as India fell short by 4 runs.
Points to Reflect
The defeat is a result of a lack of composure and inexperience in the batting lineup, as the new-look batting lineup was unable to deal with the slowness of the pitch. The West Indian bowlers took great advantage of the conditions, by taking the pace off on occasions. The openers could not capitalize on the powerplay as both were dismissed cheaply trying to be aggressive. The middle-order batters got starts, but all of them got out without batting deep enough. India looked well on their way to victory until the 16th over by Jason Holder and the unfortunate runout of Sanju Samson exposed India’s lower order, which was weakened by Shardul Thakur’s exclusion. The defeat can serve as a good teacher to the present Indian side with fresh faces, and would definitely be a boost to make a comeback.