Online Sports Desk
After four high-scoring T20Is, India and West Indies travel to the ‘OG’ of high-scoring T20Is, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru. West Indies have surprised many with the fight they have given to the back-to-back World Champions, but Gautam Gambhir’s hosts are also a team in transition, still learning how to play together and taper over their weaknesses on belters.
The fifth T20I, thus, should be about continuing to build for the long-term future and less about trying to win a bilateral trophy which won’t matter a few days later. That means that the all-rounder duo of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir, despite their struggles with the ball in the last match in Hyderabad, shouldn’t dissuade the team from sticking with them for a few more matches.
Reddy is offering better bowling and fielding skills than Dube, and both he and Dhir have shown glimpses of finishing skills that can work with some polishing.
The only question would be whether to give Vaibhav Sooryavanshi a chance. Both openers Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have found runs on different occasions, and it would require disturbing a working combination to get the 15-year-old a chance, even though he deserves it.
The bowling surely needs some fixing. The three-pronged pace attack of Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav and Mayank Yadav didn’t work, as none of them offered enough variety to succeed on a flat track.
West Indies’ spinners also left the Indians with blushes. It’s pertinent that India bring back Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist-spinner was brilliant in the first T20I and could trouble the West Indian batting order again. He has an excellent record in Bengaluru, with nine wickets in six matches, at an average of 19.44 and an economy rate of 7.29. Mayank, who didn’t pick a wicket in Hyderabad, could miss out.
India’s probable 11 for 5th T20I: Sanju Samson, Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (C), Tilak Varma, Axar Patel, Nitish Reddy, Naman Dhir, Kuldeep Yadav, Prince Yadav, Arshdeep Singh
