Mumbai: India and the West Indies meet in Bengaluru for the fifth and final T20I, with the series locked at 2-2 and everything on the line. On JioHotstar’s Game Plan, JioStar expert Abhishek Nayar looked at Sanju Samson’s innings in the fourth T20I, Shai Hope’s brilliant run on the tour, and what changes India might make to their XI.
Don’t panic after the defeat
Nayar’s advice to India is to stay calm. The team has already won two games with this same group, so the focus should be on keeping things simple. He wants the side to read the conditions in Bengaluru carefully. The West Indies have batted well and bowled well in the last game, so India need an answer to Shai Hope and a way to restrict the visitors in the powerplay. That is where the think tank has to come together with clear plans.
Shai Hope’s dream run
Nayar said it has been a long time since a visiting player scored this consistently in India while also captaining and keeping wicket. When Hope scores, West Indies win, which he sees as the mark of a truly great player. Hope has mixed finesse with power, and he finds it easy when bowlers target the stumps. Nayar suggests India should vary their approach, use the short ball more, and try to push Hope into playing behind square.
Sanju Samson’s knock
Nayar liked the early decision to let Samson take strike. He said Samson looked in control, with a good base and a steady head, and that the dangerous Sanju seemed to be back in rhythm. He believes this will carry into Bengaluru, especially with many batters in form. Abhishek Sharma was not at his best, but Samson stepped up, and Nayar feels that start, even in a losing cause, is valuable. If Samson bats a few more overs in the decider, he thinks India will be well placed to win the series 3-2.
Changes for the decider
Nayar called it a Catch-22 for India. His pick would be to bring in Kuldeep Yadav for Naman Dhir, moving Nitish and Axar up a place, and he pointed out that Axar Patel has done the floater role very well before. He admitted to being very tempted by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi, especially on a good Bengaluru surface. But if Sooryavanshi plays, it should be at the top of the order, and that would mean the number three must also be in his best position. Because of that, Nayar would make changes only to the bowling and leave the batting untouched.
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