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s India prepare to take on the West Indies in the three-match T20I series in Kolkata from February 16, Indian skipper Rohit Sharma believes it is only a matter of time before Virat Kohli rediscovers his sAcoring touch.
Overview
India vs West Indies, first T20I
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
February 16, 19:00 local
Ahead of the start of the T20I series against West Indies, much of the discourse around the Indian team has revolved around the form of former captain Virat Kohli. It has been over two years since Kohli has hit a century in international cricket with his last three-figure score coming at the same venue against Bangladesh in 2019. His lean patch continued in the ODI series against the visitors as he looked far from his sublime self.
But skipper Rohit Sharma has backed Kohli to rediscover his mojo, claiming all the chatter in the media is not helping his cause. Rohit said in his pre-match press conference: "If you guys can keep quiet for a while, I think he'll be alright. We don't need to do too much talking from your side, then everything will be taken care of. He is in a great mental space from whatever I see of him."
"He has been part of this international team for more than a decade. If someone has spent that much time in international cricket, they know how to handle the pressure situations, the environment, everything. It all starts from you guys. If you guys can keep it quiet for a bit, then everything will fall into place."
Apart from Kohli's form, the Indian side will be quietly confident from the ODI leg of the series to continue their form. There will be some changes in the ODI set-up, where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer could slot in. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could also return to add some experience to the bowling unit. Washington Sundar though has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring muscle strain.
For the visitors, the first concern will be the fitness of their skipper Kieron Pollard. The experienced all-rounder missed the final two ODIs with a niggle and West Indies will hope that he can make a comeback to add some firepower in their batting unit.
After their brilliant series victory against England at home, the visitors though will be much more confident of putting up a better fight in the T20Is and do have some dangerous players in their ranks to challenge the hosts.
In our new show, The ICC Review, Ponting pays tribute to Virat Kohli and reveals the conversation he had with India’s former skipper before his shock captaincy call.
Remember the last time
The two sides last faced off in a T20I series in 2019 which was hosted by India. It was a closely-fought series with India just edging the visitors 2-1. After winning the first contest by 6 wickets in Hyderabad, India lost the second match at Thiruvanthapuram by 8 wickets.
India finally sealed the decider in Mumbai, winning the contest by 67 runs after a Virat Kohli masterclass. Kohli scored a belligerent 29-ball 70 in the match, taking the West Indies bowlers to the cleaners. India posted a score of 240/3 on the board and then restricted the visitors to 173/8.
What they said:
Rohit Sharma (India captain): "The doors are open for everyone. We have not fixated on anyone. In Australia, we'll play in very different conditions. We'll need players of different skill sets. We need to prepare players accordingly, be it spin all-rounder, fast-bowling all-rounders or lower-order batters. We need to see the bowling options too, new ball, death overs, spinners in Powerplays, etc. Right now, we are dealing with the options we have."
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2487078
Overview
India vs West Indies, first T20I
Eden Gardens, Kolkata
February 16, 19:00 local
Ahead of the start of the T20I series against West Indies, much of the discourse around the Indian team has revolved around the form of former captain Virat Kohli. It has been over two years since Kohli has hit a century in international cricket with his last three-figure score coming at the same venue against Bangladesh in 2019. His lean patch continued in the ODI series against the visitors as he looked far from his sublime self.
But skipper Rohit Sharma has backed Kohli to rediscover his mojo, claiming all the chatter in the media is not helping his cause. Rohit said in his pre-match press conference: "If you guys can keep quiet for a while, I think he'll be alright. We don't need to do too much talking from your side, then everything will be taken care of. He is in a great mental space from whatever I see of him."
"He has been part of this international team for more than a decade. If someone has spent that much time in international cricket, they know how to handle the pressure situations, the environment, everything. It all starts from you guys. If you guys can keep it quiet for a bit, then everything will fall into place."
Apart from Kohli's form, the Indian side will be quietly confident from the ODI leg of the series to continue their form. There will be some changes in the ODI set-up, where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer could slot in. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could also return to add some experience to the bowling unit. Washington Sundar though has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring muscle strain.
For the visitors, the first concern will be the fitness of their skipper Kieron Pollard. The experienced all-rounder missed the final two ODIs with a niggle and West Indies will hope that he can make a comeback to add some firepower in their batting unit.
After their brilliant series victory against England at home, the visitors though will be much more confident of putting up a better fight in the T20Is and do have some dangerous players in their ranks to challenge the hosts.
In our new show, The ICC Review, Ponting pays tribute to Virat Kohli and reveals the conversation he had with India’s former skipper before his shock captaincy call.
Remember the last time
The two sides last faced off in a T20I series in 2019 which was hosted by India. It was a closely-fought series with India just edging the visitors 2-1. After winning the first contest by 6 wickets in Hyderabad, India lost the second match at Thiruvanthapuram by 8 wickets.
India finally sealed the decider in Mumbai, winning the contest by 67 runs after a Virat Kohli masterclass. Kohli scored a belligerent 29-ball 70 in the match, taking the West Indies bowlers to the cleaners. India posted a score of 240/3 on the board and then restricted the visitors to 173/8.
What they said:
Rohit Sharma (India captain): "The doors are open for everyone. We have not fixated on anyone. In Australia, we'll play in very different conditions. We'll need players of different skill sets. We need to prepare players accordingly, be it spin all-rounder, fast-bowling all-rounders or lower-order batters. We need to see the bowling options too, new ball, death overs, spinners in Powerplays, etc. Right now, we are dealing with the options we have."
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/2487078
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