India vs West Indies, 2nd T20I in Ranchi: can Hope's side find some calm?
Three days after Shreyas Iyer took Lucknow apart, the series moves to Ranchi for the second T20I on Friday, 9 October, with the first ball at 7pm local time at the JSCA International Stadium Complex. India lead 1-0 and carry the ease of a side that has barely stopped winning since the Asian Games. West Indies arrive with a captain who wants his batters to read the game better, which is a quieter ambition than revenge and probably a wiser one.
India: Iyer's hundred and a few chairs to rearrange
In their last game India chased 172 in 14.4 overs and lost only two wickets. It was not a blitz from the first ball. Both openers fell early to spin, and Iyer and Ishan Kishan absorbed the pressure before the captain cut loose. India took 110 off the middle overs without losing a wicket, and Iyer finished on 102* from 43 balls.
Kishan's part in that stand was the quieter craft: 37* from 27, rotating the strike and picking his moments. "I don't mind playing second fiddle at all," he said afterwards (NDTV). Ranchi is home turf for him, and batting coach Sitanshu Kotak has praised his growing maturity.
Iyer was in a bolder mood: "I think if we continue with the same mindset we will be one of the most destructive teams in T20I cricket" (ICC). The recent evidence backs him. At the Asian Games India posted 211/6 against Pakistan, with Abhishek Sharma making 61 off 28 and Tilak Varma 51* off 22. Two days earlier they bowled Sri Lanka out for 45 in 9.5 overs after Kishan's 80*.
The open question sits at the top of the order. Sanju Samson's recent failures have left India without a dependable platform, and Vaibhav Sooryavanshi is waiting with an attacking alternative. Sunil Gavaskar argues for patience with Samson. Hanuma Vihari reads the selection competition as pressure weighing on his batting.
The bowling has already changed shape. Jasprit Bumrah is rested, Hardik Pandya is not in the T20I squad and Washington Sundar has gone back to Tamil Nadu for red-ball work before the New Zealand Tests. His replacement, Naman Dhir, took 3/31 on debut in the series and has altered the balance rather than just filled a gap.
Arshdeep Singh leads the pace attack, and Mayank Yadav's place is the one under pressure after an expensive night in Lucknow, though he did remove Sherfane Rutherford in the end. Prince Yadav is the expected alternative and Nitish Kumar Reddy is an option if India want a seam-bowling all-rounder. Morne Morkel has raised the jet lag after the Asian Games: "I'm pretty sure Gautam will look to rotate" (Cricbuzz).
What reassured India most in Lucknow was the spin recovering after it had been attacked. Kuldeep Yadav was hit by Shai Hope and Rutherford, then came back with better lengths to break the middle order. Axar Patel kept control around him and finished with 2/26.
The likely XI is Samson (wk), Abhishek, Kishan, Iyer (c), Tilak, Shivam Dube, Dhir, Axar, Arshdeep, Kuldeep and Mayank or Prince Yadav.
West Indies: bright passages, loose structure
On Tuesday West Indies were bowled out for 171 in 19.1 overs, and the shape of that innings tells the story. The powerplay brought 44/3: Kamil Pooran was dismissed, Shimron Hetmyer was run out and Rovman Powell was beaten trying to hit across Axar. Hope (52 off 37) and Rutherford (56 off 34) then took the spinners on and briefly made India uneasy.
Once Hope fell, the support batting disappeared in a cluster. Rutherford and Akeal Hosein punished both Indian seamers late on and took 44 off the death overs, which shows the lower order can still hit when everything above it has gone. Hope's verdict was gentle and precise: "we just had to play the situation of the game a little bit smarter" (NDTV).
He also admitted that treating Dhir as the spinner to target backfired. And he felt India got more turn bowling first, with the evening making grip harder for his own spinners.
With the ball, Roston Chase and Hosein started well and removed both Indian openers. The seamers then gave Iyer width to free his arms, and when they went short he pulled them. A dropped chance off the centurion did not help.
Jason Holder is rested for the series. Jewel Andrew injured a finger taking a catch in the final ODI, and although scans showed no fracture, Amir Jangoo has joined as cover and gives another wicketkeeping option. Gudakesh Motie may come in for Shamar Springer, which would give Hope another specialist spinner without stripping the lower order.
Before this tour West Indies beat Sri Lanka 2-1 in Kingston in June, with Shamar Joseph taking 5/33 in the decider. Their previous meeting with India came at Eden Gardens in March, when 195/4 was not enough. India got home in the final over, and the batter who won it with 97* was Samson, the same man whose place is now up for debate.
The likely XI is Hope (c, wk), Pooran, Hetmyer, Powell, Rutherford, Chase, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Springer or Motie, Hosein and Joseph.
A skiddy pitch, the dew and why India stay favourites
Ranchi has a reputation for dry, slow surfaces, but this one is described as hard with an even covering of grass. That should help the ball skid onto the bat and give some early help to the new ball. Kotak was blunt: "I think it's a good batting wicket. So, it should be a high-scoring pitch" (The State Line). The venue's habit of letting the ball grip later on may still bring the spinners in as the innings ages.
October evenings here bring dew, which troubles the side bowling second and makes bowling first the likely call at the toss. A regional warning for thunder showers hangs over the day, but the evening playing window is expected to stay clear. DLS would apply if it does not.
The market is in no doubt, with India at 1.23 and West Indies at 4.36. That gives India roughly four chances in five. I find it hard to argue: India have three different spin threats, a batting order deep enough to lose both openers and still cruise, and the habit of reorganising after a setback.
West Indies have a route, but it is narrow. Hope and Rutherford need to cash in against India's thinner pace attack, and the middle order has to stay in long enough for the hitters below. With the ball, the spin pressure Chase and Hosein built early cannot be handed to seamers who bowl width and short balls to Iyer.
If they manage both, Ranchi could get the close game Lucknow never was. If not, India will have the series well in hand with three matches still to play.
