India vs West Indies T20I series: Positives and downsides for Team India

Downsides of the series

#1 The incessant failures of Rahul and Manish Pandey in the middle-order

Pandey was scratchy with the bat in the series

Both Rahul and Manish Pandey had a disappointing series.

Rahul got a start in all the three matches but failed to make it big. He had a very good opportunity to prove himself in the first and third matches. Unfortunately, he failed in both the matches courtesy some loose shots.

With scores of 6,19,16,26 and 17 in his last 5 innings, Rahul’s place in the team is once again in jeopardy.

Manish Pandey too flattered to deceive. He scored 19 off 24 balls in the first match. He failed to stick around with Dinesh Karthik to earn a win for his team.

In the third match, it was Manish Pandey who took the game to the wire.

Pandey came in when India just required 7 off 10 balls. All Pandey had to do was to take a single and return the strike to Dhawan who was in his 90s. But he was not able to score even a single run off the first three deliveries of his innings.

The scenario put additional pressure on Dhawan which forced him to play a false stroke with the match still hanging in the balance. In the end, Pandey and India were saved by a misfield by bowler Fabian Allen off the last ball of the 20th over.

Like Rahul, Manish Pandey doesn’t bowl which diminishes his utility value to the team in T20 matches.

#2 The Blow hot, Blow cold performances of the fast bowlers

Except for Khaleel Ahmed, all the other Indian fast bowlers were all inconsistent. Umesh Yadav played in only one match and was clobbered for 36 runs in a low-scoring affair.

Both Bhuvi and Bumrah bowled well in tandem in the second match at Lucknow where they had the cushion of a big total. Bhuvi was expensive at Chennai where he gave away 39 runs without claiming any wicket. Bumrah, as always, was economical but took only three wickets in the first two matches.

Other than Khaleel, the Indian fast bowlers, by and large, had an ordinary series.

#3 The absence of the sixth bowler

India once again played with only five regular bowlers in the entire series. However, credit should be given to Rohit Sharma for rotating his limited bowling resources most effectively.

Going forward, playing with just five bowlers is a dangerous sign for India. The shortcoming was never going to be felt against a weaker team like the West Indies. However, this weakness might cost India dearly in the upcoming T20I series against Australia.

The absence of Hardik Pandya due to injury has upset the balance of the Indian team. To sort out the sixth bowler problem in the series against Australia, the Indians will have to make a minimum of two changes in the playing XI.

From the eleven which India fielded at Chennai, KL Rahul and Manish Pandey might have to make way for Virat Kohli and Kuldeep Yadav in the playing XI for the upcoming series. Krunal Pandya and Washington Sundar might continue to be a part of the T20I playing XI.

Players like Suresh Raina or Kedar Jadhav in place of Washington Sundar would have given the team a better balance both in batting and bowling departments. However, since both of them are not in the squad for the Australia tour, India will have to manage with just five regular bowlers or a fragile batting line-up with Krunal at number 6 and Sundar at number 7. Both are equally dangerous options.

To sum up, India had their way against the depleted West Indies team. But Australia will be a different ball game altogether.