IND vs WI, 2nd T20I: Confident India Aim To Seal Series in Thiruvananthapuram

After registering a stunning victory in Hyderabad, Team India will aim to seal the three-match series when they take on the West Indies in the second T20I at the Greenfield Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday. The hosts had claimed the season’s first T20 series win at home last month, beating Bangladesh 2-1. A win on Sunday will not only help India seal their second series in the shortest format but also give them a chance to tests the fringe players as they continue their preparation for the T20 World Cup. On Friday evening, India, riding a brilliant knock from skipper Virat Kohli, registered their highest-ever successful run-chase in T20Is as they chased down the 208-run target with six wickets in hand. Kohli finished on 94 not out from just 50 balls to stun West Indies, after the visitors had looked set for victory. KL Rahul also contributed with a valuable 62 and provided the team with the much-needed firepower at the top of the order. While the batters did marvels, the bowlers found themselves at the receiving end of some power-hitting by Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer and captain Kieron Pollard. Deepak Chahar, who was impressive in the preceding series against South Africa and Bangladesh, found the going tough as the West Indian batsman went after him. He took one wicket but gave away 54 runs and he will look to execute things better on Sunday. Returning to the side’s T20 setup, Bhuvneshwar Kumar went wicketless, bleeding 36 runs in his four overs but the weakest link in India’s bowling seems to be Washington Sundar, who has failed to provide the breakthroughs, claiming just two wickets in his last six T20Is. In the fielding department too, India were far from impressive with Sundar and Rohit Sharma dropping a few catches apart from numerous misfields and the hosts will look to quickly pull up their socks. The visiting team’s bowlers appeared clueless as Kohli went on the overdrive on Friday. They gave away 23 runs in extras, an area which needs immediate attention if they have to put India under pressure. Skipper Kieron Pollard would want the experienced Jason Holder (46/0) and Sheldon Cottrell (1/24) to provide wickets in the initial overs to stymie a formidable Indian batting unit. Squads: India: Virat Kohli (Captain), Rohit Sharma, K.L. Rahul, Sanju Samson, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Shreyas Iyer, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Khary Pierre, Denesh Ramdin, Sherfane Rutherford, Lendl Simmons, Hayden Walsh Jr., Kesrick Williams