Shubman Gill’s return to form is a good sign for the team: Aakash Chopra

India meet the West Indies in the fifth and final T20I at the Broward County Stadium in Florida, USA, on Sunday, with the series level at 2-2. Shubhman Gill’s return to form is the good news that India has been waiting.

JioCinema expert Aakash Chopra, said: “It’s a significant relief because the issue was that the team wasn’t gaining momentum at the start. In T20 cricket, almost eight out of 10 times, you need to have the momentum on your side. Up until now, you were playing on pitches where matches were won at around 150 runs, but even then, there was some time to settle in. Now, with the Florida pitch that should present 180+ conditions, a good start is important, and Shubman Gill’s return to form is a good sign for the team.” 

With both teams looking to go all out in the series-decider, and the pitch helping batsmen, how will spinner Axar Patel be utilized? Do they intend to have his quota of four overs completed within the first 10 overs, or will they spread it out again?  

JioCinema expert Abhishek Nayar said: “I think that Hardik Pandya might use Axar in a similar way. But it’s possible they have different strategies in mind. Nonetheless, I believe they’re attempting to use Kuldeep Yadav and (Yuzvendra) Chahal during the middle overs and perhaps trying to utilize Axar Patel before (Nicholas) Pooran comes to bat in the powerplay. Given the used pitch, they might try to make use of Axar if there's turn, especially against Kyle Mayers. Brandon King also tends to struggle a bit against him, so I believe in the beginning, may be for about three or even four overs.”

Given the momentum shift, can India go on to complete the series win? Chopra said: “Absolutely. You see, when you lost two matches, you lost close contests. One loss by a margin of four runs, and the other by two wickets. And when India wins, it’s quite apparent how they do it. Once they won by nine wickets, and even in the previous match, around 12-13 deliveries were left, with 5-6 wickets in hand when they secured the victory.”