WI vs IND: India’s Predicted Playing XI for 3rd T20I

Team India had to suffer a hard defeat against West Indies in the second T20I match played on August 1 (Monday). With Men in Maroon winning the second encounter, the series is now leveled at 1-1 and the third encounter will be played on August 2 (Tuesday).

The visitor’s batting line-up crumbled in front of a disciplined bowling performance from the Men in Maroon as several Indian batters got a start with the bat but none of them managed to convert it to a big total. Pacer Obed McCoy was simply excellent with the ball as the left-arm pacer scalped six wickets and gave away just 17 runs in his four-over quota.

Coming to the third match, team India will want to give a chance to batter Deepak Hooda in place of Shreyas Iyer who had a good outing in the ODI series, but has struggled to get going the in last two T20Is. Batter Suryakumar Yadav also needs to make a big score as he has been quiet in the series so far.

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

Openers: Rohit Sharma (c) and Suryakumar Yadav

Skipper Rohit Sharma failed to get going in the last match as he was scalped on the first delivery he faced. Earlier, he played an excellent knock of 64 runs in just 44 balls and stroked seven fours and two sixes in the first match and the captain will want to give a vital contribution with the bat during the third match.

Rohit’s partner, Suryakumar Yadav was looking good during the second encounter as he was playing on 11 runs in just five balls and had also hit a maximum, but he was scalped by McCoy. The right-handed batter has got several starts in the tour so far but has failed to capitalize on that and he will want to respond strongly in the third match.

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

Batter Shreyas Iyer has failed to get going in the T20I series as he scored just 10 runs before getting out in the second match. Talented batter Deepak Hooda who is warming the benches so far is expected to get a chance in place of Iyer in the next encounter.

Rishabh Pant was thrashing the Men in Maroon bowlers till he was scalped by spinner Akeal Hosein. The left-handed batter took just 12 balls to score his 24 runs and smashed one four and two maximums before getting out. Pant will want to give a vital contribution to his team in the upcoming fixture.

After being adjudged player of the match in the opening T20I encounter, Dinesh Karthik failed to get going during the second match of the series as he could only manage to make seven runs for his team. Karthik holds a lot of experience in T20 cricket and will want to make a strong comeback during the third match of the series.

All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya

Senior all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya were the chief contributors with the bat for the Men in Blue during the second T20I encounter. While Pandya scored 31 off 31 balls including one four and two sixes, Jadeja scored 27 runs off 30 balls and hit one maximum.

In bowling, both of them were economical and scalped one wicket each. Coming to the third encounter, both Jadeja and Hardik will want to give their best effort for the Men in Blue and help them to get a lead in the five-match T20I series against the home team.

Bowlers: Ravi Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan

Indian bowlers had a tough job defending just 138 runs on a wicket which was good for batting, but they did a decent job in taking the match till the final over. Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Ashwin, and Avesh Khan scalped one wicket each while Bhuvneshwar Kumar only gave away 12 runs in his two overs.

Coming to the third match, the trio of Bhuvneshwar, Arshdeep, and Avesh will want to get some early wickets for their side while Ashwin will want to stem the flow of runs and create pressure on the Men in Maroon’s batting line-up and restrict them to a low total.

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