[In Pictures] Indian High Commissioner hosts Team India ahead of IND vs WI 2nd T20I

The High Commissioner of India, J K Srinivasa, hosted Team India at the Indian High Commission ahead of the second T20I in Guyana on Saturday, August 5.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) shared several pictures of the high-profile meet. In a snapshot, Team India posed together for a group photo. The national cricket body also shared candid pictures of captain Hardik Pandya and head coach Rahul Dravid shaking hands with Srinivasa.

BCCI tweeted:

“Dr K. J. Srinivasa - High Commissioner of India - hosted Team India at the Indian High Commission in Guyana ahead of the second T20I.”

The Men in Blue donned a black kit during the visit.

On the professional front, Hardik Pandya and Co. will now look to bounce back after losing the opener by four runs. Debutant Tilak Varma was the only positive with the bat, scoring 39 off 22 balls, including three sixes and two fours.

With the 2024 T20 World Cup scheduled to be played in the Caribbean and the United States, the performances in this series will count.

The openers – Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan - will look to fire after they were dismissed for single-digit scores in the opening contest. The middle order involving Suryakumar Yadav, Pandya, Sanju Samson, and Axar Patel will also look for an improved show after they failed to chase 150.

The Indian bowling unit, meanwhile, will look to continue their good work.

West Indies, on the other hand, will look to dominate India once again in the second T20I. The hosts have explosive batters in the form of captain Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, and Shimron Hetmyer to fire with the bat.

The bowlers comprising Romario Shepahard, Jason Holder, and Obed McCoy will once again look to trouble India in their pursuit of going 1-0 ahead in the five-match series.

---

Hardik Pandya backed Team India despite 4-run loss in T20I opener

Hardik Pandya, meanwhile, backed Team India to bounce back following a four-run loss in the opening T20I. The 29-year-old said that the youngsters will learn from their mistakes. He said in the post-match show:

“We made some errors which cost us the game, which is fine. A young team will make mistakes. We will grow together. Throughout the game, we were in control of the game, which was the positive in this game. Good four games coming ahead."

He added:

"In T20 cricket, if you lose wickets, it becomes difficult to chase down any total, that's exactly what happened. A couple of hits can change the momentum towards you. When we lost a couple of wickets, that halted our chase.”

Click here to follow IND vs WI 2nd T20I live score updates.