Pic Credit- @BCCI Twitter
Kolkata, The Indian team, which has already taken a winning lead in the series (India vs West Indies T20 Series), will look to experiment in the third and final T20 International against West Indies here on Sunday. Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant have been given a 10-day break, which will give India a chance to include Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad in the playing XI.
India thrashed West Indies by eight runs in the second T20I here on Friday to win a third successive series under Rohit Sharma. With less than eight months to go for the T20 World in Australia, Rohit will try new options and that could start with the hunt for a reserve opener. In the absence of Lokesh Rahul, Ishan Kishan has failed to impress at the top of the order and he could be replaced by the talented Gaikwad, who has been sitting out till now.
After becoming the costliest player in the IPL 2022 mega auction, Ishan, playing the T20I series, has disappointed so far. He was bought by Mumbai Indians for Rs 15 crore 25 lakh. After scoring 35 runs in 42 balls in the first match, Ishan could only score two runs in 10 balls in the second match. Now it has to be seen whether Rohit gives another chance to this Mumbai Indians teammate. After the series against West Indies, India have to play T20 International series against Sri Lanka and it would not be a bad idea to give Ishan a few more chances.
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In the middle order, Shreyas will replace Kohli, who has been given the necessary rest before the 100th Test. Former India captain Kohli will also miss the T20 International series against Sri Lanka and will return for the Test series against this team. Iyer, the third costliest player in the IPL auction, did not fit into India’s T20 combination in the first two matches against the West Indies but is almost certain to be picked in the final match.
Deepak Hooda impressed when he made his ODI debut before the T20 series and it remains to be seen whether the all-rounder, capable of playing big shots, is tried in T20 Internationals. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, India have so far fielded Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Harshal Patel. Both have given results so far, especially in the second match where Bhuvneshwar changed the course of the match in the 19th over and Harshal defended 25 runs in the final over to give India a win.
It remains to be seen whether Rohit changes the bowling combination and gives Mohammad Siraj a chance. Avesh Khan, who is awaiting his debut, is also an option. Avesh became the most expensive uncapped player in the history of IPL auction to be bought by Lucknow Supergiants for Rs 10 crore.
He took 14 wickets in 16 matches in IPL 2021 at an impressive economy rate of 7.37. On the other hand, West Indies, which defeated England 3-2 at home, are still looking for their first win on the current tour of India. The team also lost the ODI series 0-3.
In their preferred format, the Kieron Pollard-led side failed to impress in the first match but Rovman Powell and Nicholas Pooran scored aggressive half-centuries on Friday to revive India’s hopes of achieving the target of 187. Wicket-keeper batsman Pooran has been in excellent form and has scored two consecutive half-centuries. Off-spin all-rounder Roston Chase has also impressed.
The teams are as follows:
India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammad Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda , Kuldeep Yadav and Harpreet Brar.
West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akil Hussein, Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odeon Smith, Kyle Meyers and Hayden Walsh Jr.
Time: The match will start at 7 pm.(Agency)