India vs Windies, Second T20I: Hits and misses

Misses

#1. Shai Hope

Shai Hope

Shai Hope was the leading run-getter for the Windies in the ODI series. All hopes were on him to give them a great start after which they could have challenged the big total. But that didn’t happen as he played a nothing shot and gave his wicket away to Khaleel Ahmed.

Hope is not a regular opener and the Windies board have to bring in more specialist openers in the shorter format so that they can use Hope’s experience in the middle order, which again looked brittle today. Even the experienced players like Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin and Darren Bravo didn’t stay on the crease long enough to trouble the Indian bowlers.

This is a matter of concern for the Windies board as T20 had been their strong forte and now they seem to have lost that too. Maybe they need a new skipper, as Carlos Braithwaite’s own performance - where he gave away 56 runs - needs a lot of explanation and justification.

#2. Kieron Pollard

Pollard on his day can be the best T20 player in the world. But he let his team down once again as Jasprit Bumrah, his Mumbai Indians teammate, got rid of him pretty early in his innings.

Even in the match at Kolkata, Pollard lost his wicket to an MI teammate in the form of Krunal Pandya. It looks like he has not carried any tips from the net sessions during the IPL season.

Pollard’s batting position has been a point of debate too. There are many former players who think that he should play in the top 4 if Windies have to have any chance of chasing a big total.

The fact that Windies play Pollard as a pure batsman makes him a definite miss in this game as he was not able to contribute in any form. He would surely like to make amends for his performance in the last match to be played on Sunday.

#3. Carlos Brathwaite

The leadership of Carlos Brathwaite has been uninspiring at times. He was the most expensive bowler today from both sides as he conceded 56 runs in his 4 overs. The four overthrows that he gave in the last over showed us the state of frustration his mind is in.

Brathwaite didn't look happy with the fielding effort of his team on several occasions during the match. But then, an ideal skipper is one who leads by example, and Brathwaite didn't look like the player who won Windies the T20 World Cup in 2016.

Even while batting, he seemed lost for ideas and never really got going. Though Windies were losing wickets at regular intervals, Carlos never really pushed the envelope or tried to make the life of the bowlers tough.

His batting, bowling and captaincy are major question marks right now, and the Windies board will definitely have a look at his performance before deciding the long term path for the Caribbean Cricket team.