India will host West Indies in a must-win game in the T20 World Cup at the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata. The winner of the match will qualify for the semi-finals, while the other will have to exit from the tournament. In such a scenario, both these teams will give everything they have got on the field, as a high-scoring encounter is expected on the east coast of the country.
Notably, the Suryakumar Yadav-led side took some time to find the right combination and finally batted as per expectations in the previous encounter against Zimbabwe. Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma returning to form is a major boost, which was possible due to Sanju Samsonโs inclusion at the top of the order.
The Kerala batter released the pressure of Abhishek by handing the team a blistering start but his problem of converting those persists. Nevertheless, his inclusion forced Tilak to change his batting number, which eventually worked out in their favour, as he smacked unbeaten 44 runs off just 16 balls.ย
West Indies, on the other hand, have been sublime. Shimron Hetmyer has been spectacular, to say the least, and he will be Indiaโs biggest threat tonight. They have a stacked batting unit in place, which only support the brand of cricket they play as the team would be optimistic to pull off an upset on a ground they won the T20 World Cup 2016 in.
Itโs just the bowling unit that looks underprepared at the moment. Chasing 177 runs, South Africa lost just one wicket as the likes of Shamar Joseph, Jason Holder and Matthew Forde are not clinical enough. However, India have struggled against spinners as of late and that can be West Indiesโ gameplan for the night.ย
Eden Gardens, Kolkata, Pitch Report
Itโs a belter of a track. The surface will heavily suit the batters as a high-scoring game is expected. The pitch is made out of black soil, which can offer assistance to the pacers early on but not in a significant manner. Meanwhile, bowling first will be the ideal decision as chasing would be easier with dew coming in. Anything over 200 runs could decide the game.ย
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