India vs West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite's men in desperate search for balance, while visitors eye experimentation

West Indies have lost their last five T20Is. They have lost 16 out of their last 21 matches and 22 out of the 35 matches since lifting the 2016 World T20 trophy, possessing the third-lowest Win/Loss ratio of 0.500 among top ten T20I teams. We are talking about the T20s, a format they have mastered. No team has lifted the World T20 title more than the West Indies. So this catastrophic fall for a team that once used to bubble with energy and enthusiasm in the shortest format is surprising as well as befuddling. [caption id=“attachment_7114681” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  The West Indies batsmen need to adapt better and get their shot selection right in the 3rd T20I. AFP[/caption] The India tour to the USA and Caribbean presented West Indies with a chance to start afresh after a below-par World Cup performance. It was the time to start building for World T20 and hit the ground running. However, they have ended up losing the series in a flash. The men from the Caribbean still seem rusty and confused. They have failed to adapt to the pitches and conditions in the two matches and haven’t found the right balance between defense and attack. It’s a continuation of the trend from the England series where they were shot out for 45 and 71. In the first T20I against India, on a sticky wicket, they took an uber-aggressive approach right from the start which resulted in the shot-selection going haywire and the batting imploding to 95/9. Captain Brathwaite stressed on the need to assess the conditions better and be smarter in shot-selection while keeping the positive and aggressive intent intact after the match. In the second T20I, the West Indian altered the approach but the balance between defense and attack was still missing. Sunil Narine, promoted to open, got stuck in the crease and played out 12 balls for his four runs. Nicolas Pooran played the patience game while Rovman Powell went on the attack. Pooran, though, played out 34 balls for his 19 before getting out trying to force things. The West Indies played out 50 dot balls in 15.3 overs, which is approx 54 percent. That meant that they were far off the DLS par score (121) when lightning and rain brought a premature end to the match. Anyway, 70 more runs from 27 balls would have been more than a daunting task even in the presence of Kieron Pollard, Shimron Hetmyer at the crease and Carlos Brathwaite to come. What ails West Indies is lack of rotation of strike. Yes, their winning formula is built on fours and sixes but adaptability is a crucial factor especially on sluggish pitches. Their bowlers have done a decent job in the two T20s, it’s their batsmen who need to step up. West Indies batsmen have averaged the least among the top-10 nations - 18.12 and possess the lowest strike-rate - 117.5. They might ponder a change in plan as well with the top-order being left-hand heavy and try and rejig their batting order. Maybe the captain could push himself up the order and Pollard further up too to maintain a left-right combination. India, on the other hand, haven’t been totally convincing. They too struggled to read the conditions in the first T20I with batsmen playing some poor shots. In the second match, however, they adapted knowing that the pitch will ultimately get slower as the innings progresses. So Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan employed an aggressive approach to start off after opting to bat first, which laid the platform. The move to blood in all-rounders, three of them, seems to be working. Washington Sundar has been impressive with the ball in the Powerplays while Krunal Pandya shone in the middle overs and provided a late flourish with the bat along with Ravindra Jadeja in the second match. Having already taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series, India would now look to experiment and give chances to the bench-warmers. Kohli hinted at making changes. “Winning is always going to be a priority. But sealing the series gives the chance to bring few guys in. The idea is always going to be to win first. But winning the first two games gives the cushion,” Kohli said in the post-match presentation ceremony of the 2nd T20I. Shreyas Iyer might be roped in in place of Manish Pandey who hasn’t clicked with scores of 19 and 6. The team management might be tempted to bring in Rahul Chahar which means one of the three spinners will have to make way. Bhuvneshwar Kumar can be rested and Deepak Chahar can be given a chance. KL Rahul too can make it to the side if they decide to rest Rohit Sharma. It’s also an opportunity for Shikhar Dhawan to get into the groove after scores of 1 and 23. Ahead of the series, Virat Kohli had described how Rishabh Pant had the opportunity to show his credentials and unleash his potential and wanted him to be a consistent performer in absence of MS Dhoni. But the Delhi boy hasn’t clicked in the two matches with scores of 0 and 4. As has been the case in the last few months, he will be in the spotlight once again. The series now shifts around 2000 miles away from Florida to Guyana for the final T20I. The Providence Stadium will host its first T20I in nine years. In fact, each of the six T20Is hosted by the venue were in 2010. It hasn’t been a high scoring ground with average first innings score being 140. The Men from the Caribbean have won both the matches they have played on this ground while India will be playing here for the first time. When it comes to weather, showers are expected in the morning of the match so there could be a delayed start. The last time these two teams met in a T20I series, India achieved a 3-0 clean sweep at home. If West Indies lose the last match, they will draw a blank for the second series in a row. Can they finally break the losing rut? Well, it’s high time! The match will start at 8 pm and will be live on the Sony Pictures Sports Network. The game can also be streamed on SonyLiv.