WI vs IND: India's Predicted Playing XI for 2nd T20I

Team India will take on West Indies in the second T20I match to be played at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts on August 1 (Monday). The visitors have had an excellent tour so far as they have won all the matches, thus winning the ODI series in the process. And recently, they beat West Indies in the first T20I encounter by a fair margin.

Skipper Rohit Sharma, who did not feature in the 50-over fixtures, stroked an excellent fifty while the finishing touches were given by the wicketkeeper-batter Dinesh Karthik. The Men in Blue impressed with the ball as well as they did not let any West Indies batter get settled on the crease.

Fans were left surprised after Deepak Hooda was left out of the playing XI for the first T20I as Shreyas Iyer, who performed very well during the 50-over fixtures, batted at the number three spot. However, the right-handed batter did not manage to even open his account. Indian fans will want to see Hooda in the playing XI for the second T20I fixture.

Here’s a look at India’s predicted playing XI against West Indies for the second T20I:

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Suryakumar Yadav

As mentioned above, Rohit played an excellent knock of 64 runs in just 44 balls and stroked seven fours and two maximums. The right-handed batter was looking good for another century in the 20-over format but was scalped by Jason Holder. Coming to the second game, the skipper will want to rectify his mistakes and go on to make a big score.

Rohit’s partner, Suryakumar Yadav, also played a handy knock as the right-handed batter scored 24 runs in just 16 balls. He hit three fours and a six but was grabbed by the left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. Suryakumar will want to give a steady start to his team in the upcoming encounter.

Middle Order: Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dinesh Karthik

Deepak Hooda might be included in the playing XI against West Indies during the second T20I match. The right-handed batter played a handy knock against England during his last T20I match. He also stroked his maiden international century against Ireland recently and will want to give his best if selected for the second game.

The wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant had a decent start with the bat as he scored 14 runs in just 12 balls and stroked two fours, but the left-handed batter got unlucky as he was scalped by Keemo Paul. Pant has been in red-hot form recently and will want to play an aggressive knock during the second match.

Team India was in a bit of trouble when Dinesh Karthik came in to bat in the first T20I and the right-hander bailed his team out from a tricky situation as he played a scintillating unbeaten knock of 41 runs in just 19 balls. He was also adjudged the Player of the Match.

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya

The duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya did not have much of a say during the first T20I encounter. While Jadeja scored 16 runs off 13 balls hitting two fours, Pandya could only manage to score one run before getting scalped by Alzarri Joseph.

In bowling, Jadeja bowled his full four-over quota and conceded only 26 runs while scalping one wicket. Pandya, on the other hand, bowled just two overs and gave away 12 runs. Both senior players are expected to retain their positions for the second T20I and will want to contribute to the team with both bat and ball.

Bowlers: Ravi Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Bishnoi

The Men in Blue’s bowling unit was simply exceptional against the Men in Maroon’s batting line-up during the first T20I encounter as they restricted them to just 122 runs in their allotted 20 overs. Not only the pacers but also the spinners did a good job.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar (one), Arshdeep Singh (two), Ravi Ashwin (two), and Ravi Bishnoi (two) were the successful bowlers for the Men in Blue. Team India displayed an exceptional bowling performance during the first fixture and they will look to emulate their performance in the second match as well.

India’s predicted playing XI against West Indies for the second T20I:  Rohit Sharma (C), Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant (WK), Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh