India tour of West Indies Aug-Sept 2019

[GOKUL RAJ K]

The Conclusion
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So as the tour comes to an end, I thought of sharing my views regarding it. It wasn't a great series as far as the competition between the sides was concerned. I expected West Indies to put up a great fight and make us fight for a win in the Tests as well as the T20I series because of their exploits against England. And in T20Is because of them being the World Champions in this format with some big hitters in their team. Along with that, they've always troubled India in this format. Also the fact that India's batting in this format is not top-notch also they did not have their best team as far as their bowling was concerned. In ODIs the performance was as expected but they definitely showed sparks of brilliance in the 3rd ODI where Gayle and Evin Lewis went beserk.

Coming on to T20I series what impressed me is the fact that India played their best Cricket right from the first match in the T20I series. Navdeep Saini bowled a beautiful spell comprising of pace and bounce and also change in variations. While India looked a bit scrappy with their batting. In the second T20I some fabulous range of strokes and flawless batting from Rohit Sharma and a late finish from Krunal Pandya were worth having a watch at. Later in the 3rd T20I, the bowling started of well and despite being taken for some lusty blows the Indian bowlers kept their calm. In batting despite the failure of top order they kept their cool and build a beautiful partnership when Pant and Kohli were at the crease to see them through to whitewash West Indies. For West Indies perspective, it was an utterly disappointing performance. Thought Oshane Thomas and Sheldon Cottrell made things tough for the Indian batsman. Also Kieron Pollard and Rovman Powell batted brilliantly so as Nicholas Pooran in the 2nd T20I. But rest of them, the less said it is better!

The ODIs, West Indies again started poorly but still managed to score 54/1 in 13 overs but later the rain resulted in abandonment of the match. In the 2nd ODI, India lost Shikhar Dhawan early. Rohit looked completely out of touch but it was magnificent knock of Kohli and a stable knock of Shreyas Iyer brought India back in the game. Both Kohli and Iyer also got together to get things going in the last match where India chased down 255 in just 34 overs which was again some sign of dominance. For West Indies, Sheldon Cottrell was economical in the 2nd ODI while Roston Chase kept things tight from the other end as well. Brathwaite also made his contribution by taking some crucial wickets at regular intervals. Evin Lewis did play wonderfully well after a real struggle in the T20I series. Pooran was the man who impressed me the most. I don't quite understand why Cottrell was kept out in the last match of the series despite being economical in the 2nd ODI. Chris Gayle's and Lewis's cameo at start laid platform for the batsmen in the lower order but they made a mess of it. Again it was Pooran who played well in the middle order. Hetmyer disappointed me the most in the ODI series. Kohli was rightfully adjudged man of the series.

In the Test series, India looked a bit under pressure at start of their innings in the first Test but they recovered well. Kohli's shot in the first innings of the first Test playing upper cut straight into the hands of the third man. Finally Rahane once again brought his Mr. Dependable form at the right time for India. Jadeja did well and Ishant Sharma's contribution with the bat at the end was priceless despite not scoring the runs. And again he came out at bowled at full throttle in the West Indies innings and grabbed 5 wickets. In the 2nd innings Vihari cemented his spot in my view for the no.6 which India were looking for a long time. Rahane's century is going to be a huge confidence booster for him and his team. In the 2nd Innings of the West Indies, Bumrah bowled a spell which has to be India's best spell of bowling in Test Cricket.

In the 2nd Test Kohli got some important runs under his belt and Agarwal supported him well. Bumrah didn't just stop after the 2nd innings of the first Test. This time he grabbed six wickets. Wonderful century from Vihari again, his first in Test Cricket. A lot more wonderful years to come for him. For West Indies I would just say one thing, just stick with Sharmarh Brooks, Roston Chase and Jermaine Blackwood if they are to resolve their batting issues in Test.

I think it's time for India to move on from Rohit and find a player who would play for them for years to come. And that player is meant to be Vihari's back up. And for West Indies they shouldn't play Hetmyer in Tests at Present as he just doesn't look cut for this format as of yet. I day don't force him in this format as his one-day and T20I form would struggle because of lack of confidence.[DOUBLEPOST=1567522231][/DOUBLEPOST]And finally would like to add one more thing. KL Rahul clearly needs to be more confident and more responsible now. India badly needs the old KL Rahul back. Or would just advice to give his place to Shaw who is rearing to go big time !

As the Series is Completed .Its Time To Lock This Thread.
@zwarrior

 

[Aalay]

They still have ten wickets.

Yes but they have 12 players batting instead of 11 which is the point I am trying to make. I am fine with that as well as long as they are scrapping out the runs that the original player have scored in that inning and only counting the runs the substitute players makes. However, they are counting runs made by both player which just doesn't make sense.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

Yes but they have 12 players batting instead of 11 which is the point I am trying to make. I am fine with that as well as long as they are scrapping out the runs that the original player have scored in that inning and only counting the runs the substitute players makes. However, they are counting runs made by both player which just doesn't make sense.

The substitute is continuing the innings of the incapacitated player. They have the same number of wickets, that's the point. If anything it's an advantage to the bowling side to have a new batsman at the crease. If you start taking runs off teams, it'd be a shambles. Do you take subtract the balls bowled to the injured player from the total number of overs as well, and make the bowling side bowl them again?

 

[Aalay]

The substitute is continuing the innings of the incapacitated player. They have the same number of wickets, that's the point. If anything it's an advantage to the bowling side to have a new batsman at the crease. If you start taking runs off teams, it'd be a shambles. Do you take subtract the balls bowled to the injured player from the total number of overs as well, and make the bowling side bowl them again?

I understand the point that you have made. However, it still bothers me for the fact that Blackwood is someone who was coming into this series with form and Bravo was just picked on reputation. We could clearly see that with the way Blackwood was striking the ball. In a closer match, his inning would have definitely made a difference.

 

[wasteyouryouth]

I understand the point that you have made. However, it still bothers me for the fact that Blackwood is someone who was coming into this series with form and Bravo was just picked on reputation. We could clearly see that with the way Blackwood was striking the ball. In a closer match, his inning would have definitely made a difference.

Well if his form was that good West Indies would have picked him and you'd be complaining that Darren Bravo, a man with eight test centuries, is an unfair replacement.

 

[abhi_jacko]

And finally would like to add one more thing. KL Rahul clearly needs to be more confident and more responsible now. India badly needs the old KL Rahul back. Or would just advice to give his place to Shaw who is rearing to go big time !

Dont quite see what Rahul has done wrong to be dropped for anyone. Despite not being in the best nick, he did a satisfactory job in the first Test. 44 in 97 deliveries and 38 in 85 deliveries is something we should happily take from a Test opener, against what was actually a pretty good bowling attack in friendly conditions. He again survived 50+ deliveries in the second innings of the second Test in testing conditions. Its a pretty good showing from a Test opener - and he outperformed his partner Mayank in 3 out of 4 innings

 

[NILAYSHAH60]

Dont quite see what Rahul has done wrong to be dropped for anyone. Despite not being in the best nick, he did a satisfactory job in the first Test. 44 in 97 deliveries and 38 in 85 deliveries is something we should happily take from a Test opener, against what was actually a pretty good bowling attack in friendly conditions. He again survived 50+ deliveries in the second innings of the second Test in testing conditions. Its a pretty good showing from a Test opener - and he outperformed his partner Mayank in 3 out of 4 innings

I didn't say he should be dropped immediately. But he has to score now. Thankfully we were playing against West Indies so our tail was able to contribute. But this doesn't happen everytime if we are playing against a good team who is confident about what they should be doing. Someone like Prithvi Shaw could do the scoring and also spend time at the crease and looks a lot more comfortable out in the middle as compared to Rahul. ATM he is serving his suspension but the time he is available he is going to be our first choice opener in case Rahul doesn't score consistently till then. So he has to bring out his best. I would be pleased to see Rahul score runs in NZ in January next year than becoming a bunny to the likes of Boult and Lockie Ferguson just because of the lack of confidence in his footwork and counter those magic deliveries.