India vs Windies – 1st T20I Hits and Misses

Misses:

#1 Kieron Pollard

The Veteran all-rounder, who returning to the team, was expected to deliver for the relatively inexperienced Windies team. Kieron Pollard, who was playing his first T20I match in India, came to the crease at a critical situation and was forced to play a mature innings to stabilise the team. The scorecard read 22/2 after 3 overs and a partnership could have saved the Windies team.

Pollard was rusty with the bat as he scored a struggling 14 off 26 balls. Neither the pitch nor the bowlers supported Pollard. His long stay at the crease only favoured India. A rare achievement in this slow innings was that his six in his slow 26-ball innings was the only six of the whole Windies innings. Krunal Pandya, the Mumbai Indians team mate of Pollard who debuted today, ended the misery of Pollard when he dismissed the veteran in the 10th over. To add to his woes, Pollard conceded 12 runs in the only over he bowled.

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#2 Shikhar Dhawan

Shikhar Dhawan, who gave up his Test spot to the sensational Prithvi Shaw after a forgettable England series had an average series in the limited overs format too. He scored just 112 runs in 5 outings with a high score of just 38. Chasing a paltry 110, Dhawan was expected to regain his lost form and the confidence. Sadly, it wasn’t the case with Shikhar Dhawan as he missed out a good chance to stabilise his T20 career.

Rohit Sharma fell in the first over and the responsibility was on Dhawan to guide the innings. He got out for just 3 runs after facing 8 deliveries and his wicket saw him push the team in to a dangerous situation of 16/2. His 8-ball stay saw him struggle against the impressive Oshane Thomas who hardly bowled any ball below 140kph. Fittingly, Oshane Thomas removed Dhawan with an excellent delivery that knocked the stumps off.

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#3 Rishabh Pant

Rishabh Pant, the sensational youngster who made a mark in the Test side with a brilliant century in England was named in the ODI side too, but unfortunately he didn’t get to play. He played in this match and critics and fans eagerly expected Pant to repay their faith with a good innings. In reply to the Windies' 109, the Indian innings was in despair as the Men in Blue were struggling at 16/2.

Pant who can hit boundaries at will and who has enough experiences in Indian soil was expected to play atleast a supporting knock to Rahul. Sadly, it didn’t happen as he was dismissed for just 1 run. In his 19-run partnership with Rahul, Pant contributed a mere 1 run in 4 balls. Pant was dismissed by the opponent captain Carlos Brathwaite with a good catch by Darren Bravo. Although inexperience could be named as a reason for the failure, his place will be at stake when he takes the field in the next match.