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India faced another setback in the second of their five-match T20I series against the West Indies in Guyana on Sunday, August 6. This marked the first time since 2016 that the West Indies managed to secure consecutive victories in the first two matches of a T20I series against India.
With this win, the Caribbean side have now taken a 2-0 lead in the series. To clinch the series, India now has the challenging task of securing victories in all three remaining matches. Analysing the second T20I, let's delve into the three significant errors made by the Indian team:
Inconsistent batting performance
In the first match, the Indian batter struggled as they failed to reach a total of 150 runs. The story wasn't any different in the second T20I as well, with the top-order collapsing to 76 for 4. In these dire straits, middle-order batter Tilak Varma played a valiant innings of 51 runs off 41 balls. However, his solo efforts could only steer India to a total of 152 runs, ultimately leading to their downfall.
Failure to contain Nicholas Pooran
West Indies' wicketkeeper-batter Nicholas Pooran proved to be a persistent thorn in India's side. After scoring a quickfire 41 in the first match, he continued his onslaught in the second T20I. When the West Indies were reeling at 32 for 3, Pooran stabilised the innings, ensuring his team stayed in the hunt. By the time the Indian bowlers managed to dismiss him, he had already wreaked havoc, scoring 67 off just 40 balls.
Underutilising Yuzvendra Chahal
Yuzvendra Chahal provided a glimmer of hope in the 16th over, taking three vital wickets and swinging the match's momentum back to India. At that stage, West Indies required 26 runs from 30 balls. Despite this match-turning over, skipper Hardik Pandya chose not to bring Chahal back into the attack.
As a result, West Indies' tail-enders capitalized on this and amassed the required runs, pushing India to the brink of defeat. Chahal's figures stood at two wickets for 19 runs in his three overs. Perhaps, if he had bowled his full quota, the outcome might have been different.
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