In an absolutely nail-biting encounter, the West Indies were just one hit away from levelling the series but were unable to get over the line, with Team India winning this game by 8 runs, therefore taking an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. After losing the toss and being asked to bat first by Pollard, India go to a formidable total of 186-5 courtesy of some classy batting by Virat Kohli and some late pyrotechnics from Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer.
In response, the Windies started off slowly and lost both openers quickly, but a 100-run partnership between Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell had them at the driver’s seat to win it from there. Just when it seemed that the Windies had this in the bag, Bhuvi and Harshal Patel held their nerve and exhibited tremendous bowling skill, and got India over the line in what was a thriller of a game.
Here are some of the talking points of the game that Team India won to win the T20 series-
1. Kishan’s struggles continue for Team India
Ishan Kishan’s poor run with the bat continues. After struggling to time the ball properly in the first T20, it was expected that he had learned from his failings and today was the best time to apply them in a game that required his prowess with the bat. Unfortunately, that did not happen as the mistakes that he did in the first game reared their head again. He was all at sea with the early swing and movement that was assisting the pacers, with Sheldon Cottrell, in particular, unsettling the southpaw. His dismissal was also a very poor one, playing across the line and getting a leading edge that ballooned straight in the hands of point, who didn’t make a mistake. Ishan is a very talented cricketer and will definitely have a great career ahead of him, but in a World Cup year where there are many talented and hungry players looking for that opportunity to get into that squad, Ishan cannot afford to have any more off days and will have to get his act together quickly.
2. Roston Chase, the X-factor
Roston Chase is a very eccentric cricketer. The tall, lanky Barbadian was expected to make way for Jason Holder after the latter was passed fit, but somehow managed to keep his place in the squad for this game, with Fabian Allen making a way in his stead. And boy did he justify his inclusion in the playing 11!. For the second game in a row, Chase was the scourge of the Indian batsmen.
Taking full advantage of his tall frame, and his wily change of pace, Chase tormented the Indian batsmen, not giving them an inch. He kept the pressure on the batsmen, bowling the right lengths and not giving them a chance to free their arms. And he was justly rewarded for his persistence with 3 key wickets. The ball to dismiss Virat Kohli was an absolute pearler, with the ball turning and breathing Kohli’s defences, before going on to crash onto the middle stump. Roston Chase may not be the most well-known of the West-Indians in the squad, but he’s sure making a case for himself with these performances with the ball.
3. Another day, another middle-order masterclass
For the second game running, the Indian middle-order put its hand up and made sure that they each the score that was almost the ideal one considering the conditions of the wicket and the outfield. If it was Suryakumar Yadav and Venkatesh Iyer in the first game, it was Rishabh Pant and Venkatesh Iyer this time around. Both the southpaws went hammer and tongs against a bowling attack that was just starting to tighten its grip over the batsmen at that stage.
The duo added 76 of 35 balls together, punishing the bowlers at every instance. Rishabh Pant, in particular, went on to take the likes of Holder and Pollard to the cleaners, with his trademark one-handed tonk for 6 against Holder arguably being the shot of the day. The growing confidence of this middle-order is one of the biggest positives of this series and will be very helpful in the future challenges that this team faces.
4. Rovman Powell’s belligerence
Rovman Powell walked into this series with his reputation preceding himself. On the back of a 100 against England where he battered them for 10 sixes, he didn’t really get a chance to showcase his power-hitting in the first game, getting dismissed cheaply. But he more than made up for that in this game. From the time he walked in to bat, he was in absolute control of the situation.
The moment he got his eye in, he got to work, making an absolute mockery of the bowling and carting the bowlers all around the park, hitting the ball with such ferocity that reminded you of a young Keiron Pollard. He alongside Nicholas Pooran ensured that the Windies were in the driving seat. Even when 23 were needed for the last 4 balls, he took Harshal Patel to the cleaners, depositing balls number 3 and 4 to the stands. Although he was not able to take his team over the line, Powell can hold his head high with his effort with the bat.
5. Death Over excellence by Team India
This was West Indies’ game for the taking. With Nicholas Pooran and Rovman Powell hitting everyone out of the park at that stage, it needed a herculean effort with the ball to ensure that they didn’t run away with the game. Up stepped Harshal Patel and Bhuvaneshwar Kumar. While Harshal bowled a very good 18th over, it was the penultimate over that almost sealed the fate for the hosts. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar used all of his experience and wielded the ball like Gandalf against Balrog, not giving the batsmen an inch and the room to cut loose.
He only gave 4 runs in that over and also accounted for the wicked of the dangerous Nicholas Pooran. And while Harshal did give away 2 sixes in the last over, he bowled a perfect yorker on the second-last ball of the final over to help ice the game in India’s favour. With Jasprit Bumrah rested for this series, it was refreshing to see the likes of Bhuvi and Harshal take over the responsibility in closing the game for their side, and that only bodes well for the side in their quest for World Cup glory come October.
Joy Barma
8 Aug 2022Thank you for this informative and useful blog about cricket.