The bowlers got the job done in Kolkata in the 1st T20I, but the batsmen found the chase tricky against an inspired bowling attack by the Windies, but then Dinesh Karthik and Krunal Pandya saw the team past the winning line. The series now shifts to Lucknow and promises to be an interesting affair.
Kuldeep Yadav was superb with the ball and continued tormenting the hosts as he picked up three wickets to slice through the Windies batting. He now needs only two wickets to become India's leading wicket-taker in T20Is this year.
Despite being India's number 1 bowlers with the white ball across all conditions, Jasprit Bumrah has not got the better of Windies so far in his career. His economy rate of 8.87 is the worst against any team in his career.
Rohit on the cusp of beating several records
India need their captain Rohit Sharma to get going in Lucknow. Rohit has been the leading run-scorer for the team in this format since 2017. Also, he has the best strike rate amongst the top 5 scorers since 2017. His strike rate is upwards 150 and has the most number of innings of more than 50 (6 innings).
The right-hander has been a white-ball beast in the last couple of years and is the third-highest run scorer in the format since 2017 and has smoked 109 boundaries, which is the next to only Colin Munro.
As far as the overall career is concerned, Rohit needs only 11 runs to go past Virat Kohli to become India's leading run-scorer in T20Is.
India's middle-order might be problematic in One Day Internationals, but it has been in roaring form in T20Is. The middle-order so far has scored 5,909 runs at an average of 28.27 – which is the best in the world.
Dinesh Karthik, who soaked in all the pressure, and then saw the team over the line, now needs 37 more runs to cross 2000-run mark in limited overs. Also, Manish Pandey needs 33 runs 500 runs in T20Is since 2017.
Despite the win in Kolkata, Windies have had the better of India in this format. While India have won 3 matches, the boys from the Caribbean have walked away with the win 5 times. They might be underdogs in Lucknow, but such is the power and pedigree in the visitors that they can be world-beaters on any given day.
