Confident India look to wrap up series with win over gritty West Indies in fourth T20I match

Gautam Gambhir’s India will look to seal the five-match T20I series when they take on the West Indies in the fourth match at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday, with the high-scoring venue promising another batting spectacle after the hosts’ victory in Indore.

India, who are leading the series 2-1, will look to maintain their current form and put pressure on the visitors, while the West Indies hope to make a comeback and keep the series alive.

Since Hyderabad is a ground that favours batters and has short boundaries, both teams may once again be facing a high-scoring game. The place has seen several successful T20I chases of 208 and 187, and India once nearly exceeded the 300-run mark, ending up with the second-highest score in T20Is played between ICC Full Member countries.

The city also hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad, which is one of the most aggressive batting teams in the Indian Premier League (IPL), a team attitude exemplified by Abhishek Sharma, Travis Head and Heinrich Klaasen.

In Hyderabad, exceptional totals have been chased in recent domestic and franchise cricket, with the venue recording scores of 310, 297, 286 and 277 over the past two years.

The pitch has recently been relaid, but the conditions are likely to be in favour of the batters, especially if dew plays a role in the second innings. Since there is no rain predicted, the match is set to proceed without interruption.

India, on the other hand, will take into account their bowling problems after having to put up large totals during the tour.

The hosts have admitted that their failure to defend their highest T20I total and their third-highest ODI score has been a concern.

Even though the batting side has kept on performing well, India will hope that the Hyderabad wicket will provide their bowlers with sufficient help in order to keep a large total if they have to chase it.

At the same time, the West Indies are not likely to be put off by the idea of a pitch that favours batting.

Their attacking batting lineup would be helped by conditions that provide a more reliable bounce than those in Indore, where India had managed to defend a total.

Since only one of the six matches played during the tour has seen the side that batted first win, the result of the toss and the possibility of dew may well be decisive.

A major match between India’s fast-opening batsman Abhishek Sharma and the West Indies off-spinner Roston Chase is possible, since Chase played a decisive part in the visitors’ win in Ranchi by getting rid of Abhishek, Ishan Kishan and Shreyas Iyer.

India might keep the combination which had worked well in Indore, having chosen an extra seamer instead of wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav. Even though spin was effective in that game, the home side may want the extra pace option on a wicket expected to give more help to the stroke players.

At the same time, the West Indies will be keeping an eye on Romario Shepherd, since he picked up an injury during his bowling in Ranchi. Even though he did manage to bat in that match, the all-rounder was still excluded from the game in Indore. His availability would have given the visitors an additional seam bowler and useful depth in the lower order.

A further interesting statistic involves Naman Dhir from India, since all of his five international wickets have been taken on the ball that follows immediately after he has conceded a six.

This rare sequence highlights his ability to cope when he is attacked and might therefore make him a viable choice for India should the West Indies’ power hitters get going.

India are confident about the tournament because of their recent form, having won four of their last five T20 matches, whereas the West Indies have alternated between wins and losses and have lost three of their most recent five games. Although the home side start as favourites, the visitors’ ability to score quickly makes them a dangerous opponent on a ground where large totals are by no means uncommon.

Meanwhile, pace alone will not make speedster Mayank Yadav a lethal bowler, and the young quick must back his speed with direction and execution of plans when he features in the T20I series in New Zealand starting on October 22, said former India bowling coach Bharat Arun.

Agencies