WEST INDIES VS INDIA: 2nd T20 | TODAY'S CRICKET MATCH PREDICTION AND TOP FANTASY PICKS
Back when T20 cricket was in its infancy, West Indies won 4 of the first 6 matches they played against India. Since then, there have been just 2 wins in 15 games, including losing streaks of 7 and 5 (now). The days of dominating the T20 arena and winning the World Cup in 2012 and 2016, seem a distant memory.
For the West Indies, the consistency is missing. The batters have the power-hitting game but the ability to rotate strike needs to be added to that. Mayers and Brooks started the innings brightly but as soon as the Indian spinners came on, Pooran and co. struggled to keep up to the run-rate. They lost the game by a big margin of 68 runs.
India themselves haven’t won the big prize since 2007, but seems far better placed ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia in October. The depth in the squad is proof enough, with the likes of Arshdeep and Bishnoi slotting in effortlessly in place of the likes of Bumrah and Chahal.
With Virat and KL Rahul also missing the series, there’s a big opportunity for the likes of Iyer and Suryakumar to show that they can be central to the World Cup campaign. India are also rotating their spin options to see which of Ashwin, Jadeja, and Kuldeep will provide the best support for Chahal. The off-spin of Hooda, who doubles up as a top-order hitter, comes into the mix as well.
Match Details
- Match: West Indies vs India 2nd T20
- Venue: Warner Park, Basseterre, St. Kitts
- Date & Time: Aug 1 2022, at 11 PM IST
- Live Streaming: FanCode App
WEST INDIES VS INDIA 2nd T20 PROBABLE PLAYING XIs
West Indies
K. Mayers, B. King, S. Hetmyer, N. Pooran (C & WK), R. Powell, D. Thomas, J. Holder, O. Smith, A. Hosein, O. McCoy, A. Joseph
India
R. Sharma (C), R. Pant (WK), S. Iyer, S. Yadav, H. Pandya, D. Karthik, R. Jadeja, R. Ashwin, B. Kumar, A. Singh, A. Khan
India vs West Indies T20 Head-to-head Record
Weather Report
The teams have left Trinidad and now journey north in the Caribbean to St Kitts and Nevis. There won’t be much change in the weather though, with a temperature of 31°C likely at the start of play.
Ind vs WI 2nd T20 Pitch Report
In 8 completed T20I matches dating back to 2009, only once has a team scored more than 150. That would suggest pitches loaded in favour of the bowlers. But two years ago, West Indies did chase down a target of 139 in just 11 over, albeit against Ireland.
Toss
A sample size of 8 games across 13 years isn’t much to go on, but the teams will surely be influenced by the fact that the chasing side has won 6 of those matches.
TOP FANTASY PICKS FOR WI VS IND 2nd T20 Match
Team West Indies
- N. Pooran scored 141 runs in the ODI series at an average of 47 and a strike rate of 104.44. He has scored 1319 runs from 53 T20I innings including 9 half-centuries His highest score of 74* came in West Indies’ last game against Bangladesh. Pooran was the second highest run-scorer of the West Indies in the last match (18 runs off 15 balls).
- S. Hetmyer has been left out in the past for not meeting fitness criteria, but on his day, he can be an incredibly destructive hitter. A tally of just 3 half-centuries in 36 innings, and a modest strike-rate of 118.05 suggest that he has yet to show his true colours at international level.
- A. Hosein is already a fixture in the West Indies T20 XI just over a year after his debut. Not a big wicket-taker (just 18 from 21 innings), his great strength is choking off the runs, as shown by an economy rate of just 6.98.
Team India
- R. Sharma has scored a century and 5 fifties against West Indies, at a superb strike rate of 140.17. No one has more than his tally of 4 international hundreds in the format. He scored 64 off 44 balls in the first game of the series and would be confident of his abilities in this match as well.
- S. Yadav provided a good start to the team in the first match, with his knock of 24 off 16 balls. He has been in good form in T20Is and struck his first T20I century in England 4 innings back. In this fixture, he would look to convert his start into a big one.
- B. Kumar bowled just 2 overs in the opening game, as India chose to look at what Arshdeep had to offer. But almost predictably, his short spell included an early wicket and a maiden over. Bhuvneshwar has taken 71 wickets in 69 T20Is at an economy rate of 6.9.
WI VS IND 2nd T20 SUGGESTED HOWZAT TEAM
- Wicketkeepers: N. Pooran, R. Pant
- Batters: R. Sharma, S. Yadav, S. Hetmyer, K. Mayers
- All-rounder: H. Pandya
- Bowlers: O. McCoy, R. Ashwin, A. Hosein, B. Kumar
- Captain: S. Yadav/K. Mayers
- Vice Captain: A. Hosein/B. Kumar
IND vs WI 2nd T20 – HOWZAT Fantasy Team
NOTE: The Howzat dream team above is just a suggestion. You can select your own team from today’s fantasy match prediction and play all the fantasy cricket matches of the India Tour of West Indies 2022. Also, don’t forget to make any necessary changes to your team once the actual playing 11 is announced by each team (30 minutes before the start of the match) as some players you have selected might not be part of the team playing.
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