IND vs WI 2022: 3 areas India must focus on in the second T20I

Will Ravichandran Ashwin make the final World Cup squad and Rishabh Pant's fortunes see an upswing in T20Is? Things for India to ponder over!

India got off to the perfect start in the five-match T20I series against the West Indies with a 68-run win in the series opener. The match, which was the first men's international at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, saw Rohit Sharma and Co. dominate proceedings for large swathes.

Rohit top-scored for the visitors with a flamboyant 44-ball 64 after Nicholas Pooran asked India to bat first. Regular wickets threw a spanner into the works of Team India, but Dinesh Karthik stepped up to the fore in the slog overs again. His unbeaten 19-ball 41 powered India to a solid total of 190/6.

In reply, the West Indies never got going in their chase despite a number of their batters getting off to starts. Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi and Arshdeep Singh snared two wickets apiece to shut the doors on the hosts for good.

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India will look back at their batting on Friday and identify the odd areas of improvement though. This is all the more pivotal considering that it's a T20 World Cup year we are referring to.

We glance at three areas that India should look to improve upon once the second T20I commences at Warner Park in St. Kitts and Nevis on Monday (August 1).

#1 Who opens with Rohit Sharma?

If there's anything that has outnumbered the count of captains that India have had this year, it is the number of opening batters. Rohit will open the batting at the T20 World Cup later this year but there is a feeling of 'too many cooks' coming into the equation thereafter.

KL Rahul was set to partner his captain but has been ruled out with COVID-19. Even otherwise, the Karnataka batter is yet to play a single T20I this calendar year. Ishan Kishan opened in the series against South Africa and Ireland, while Deepak Hooda was used as a makeshift option in one of the games.

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The latest to join the bandwagon was Suryakumar Yadav, arguably the best bet the side has for the middle overs. With that in mind, the visitors would surely want to revisit the combination of Rohit and Suryakumar and perhaps move the latter back to the middle order, given that it offers a win-win situation.

Come the second T20I, the tourists must look to address this problem for good, ensuring more clarity with the World Cup not too far away.

#2 The returns of Rishabh Pant

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It's hard to find a player as maverick and exciting in today's era as Rishabh Pant. The dashing wicket-keeper batter can tear apart any bowling attack to shreds and has established himself as India's first-choice keeper across formats.

For all his success in Test cricket and swift rise in ODIs, however, his T20I record has left a lot to be desired. Consistency hasn't been his best friend and a number of squandered opportunities have cast a shadow over his spot in the T20 XI owing to the competition for places within the Indian side.

As far as left-handed batters are concerned, Pant is head and shoulders above the rest of his colleagues in terms of skill. Both him and India would want the runs to show for it in the format though and it must start in the second T20I on Monday. It will be interesting to see if the visitors revert to opening the batting with Pant and Rohit, like they did in England earlier this month.

#3 The backup spinner

With Yuzvendra Chahal being rested for the ongoing series against West Indies, Ravi Bishnoi and Ravichandran Ashwin were both deployed in the first T20I. Both came up trumps with impeccable spells to derail the hosts' run-chase, with Ravindra Jadeja also doing his bit.

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Jadeja seems all but locked in for the T20 World Cup as the batting all-rounder but who boards the flight as cover for Chahal remains a factor of intrigue. While India got their selection spot on in picking the extra spinner, a change in playing conditions could force a rethink in combination come the second T20I in Basseterre.

Bishnoi has been with the squad for a while now and could get the nod in that regard. That said, Ashwin's off-spin variety and experience tilt the scales in his favor, meaning that we could well see a shootout between the two in the coming games. This is another box that India will be keen to tick off at the earliest.

What are the areas that you think India must focus upon improving? Let us know in the comments section below!