The IND vs WI T20I series is set for an exciting conclusion, as the five-match rubber will be decided on Saturday in Bengaluru.
All seven white-ball matches on the West Indies tour of India have resulted in high-scoring fixtures, which also included India chasing down 406 in the Guwahati ODI and the West Indies successfully chasing 352 in the Mullanpur ODI and 250 in the Ranchi T20I.
The IND vs WI 5th T20I is also set to be a run-fest, as it will be played at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, which is known as the graveyard for bowlers.
India’s bowling attack has come under heavy criticism and scrutiny as the visiting batsmen have hammered the Indian bowlers with ease, with Shai Hope registering four centuries in seven outings on this trip.
India have tried to shuffle their bowling attack by dropping Kuldeep Yadav and Shivam Dube for Nitish Kumar Reddy and Prince Yadav, but that hasn’t yielded positive returns.
The worries for captain Shreyas Iyer and head coach Gautam Gambhir remain with the bowlers unable to find a place to hide from the onslaught by the West Indies batsmen.
IND vs WI 5th T20I: Kuldeep Yadav is expected to play and replace a seamer
Given the loss in Hyderabad by 24 runs, expect at least one change, if not two, to the India playing XI. Kuldeep Yadav, who has been benched for the last two T20Is, is likely to return to the side, replacing one of the three pacers: Arshdeep Singh, Mayank Yadav, or Prince Yadav.
Arshdeep copped a blow on his shoulder while batting against a short ball from Shamar Joseph. If he isn’t fit, he could be replaced by Kuldeep, who picked up three wickets in the first two T20Is, and his economy in this series is the second-best among all Indian bowlers.
Prince has claimed only one wicket in two games but has the best economy among the Indians, while Mayank has gone wicketless in the last two matches and could be benched in Bengaluru.
Apart from this one swap of Kuldeep with a pacer, the Iyer-Gambhir pair may not make any other change. With Sanju Samson smashing another half-century, Vaibhav Sooryavanshi will spend more time outside the team but in the squad.
Former India off-spinner R Ashwin expressed surprise at Kuldeep’s omission from the team in the last two matches. He opined that the West Indies’ batters have struggled to pick Kuldeep, and his exclusion lacks sense.
Ashwin said on his YouTube channel, “It is very surprising because, on a ground where you expect to get some bounce, I know it has not always been a happy hunting ground for spinners. But the West Indies batters are struggling to pick his (Kuldeep) googly and leg spin. So, if you are leaving Kuldeep out against them, it lacks a bit of common sense. It is very surprising because I think his presence could have made a difference of 15-20 runs.”
IND vs WI: India Playing XI For Series-Decider 5th T20I – Predicted
- Sanju Samson (wk)
- Abhishek Sharma
- Ishan Kishan (wk)
- Shreyas Iyer (C)
- Tilak Varma
- Nitish Kumar Reddy
- Axar Patel
- Naman Dhir
- Prince Yadav
- Arshdeep Singh (if fit)/Kuldeep Yadav
- Mayank Yadav/Kuldeep Yadav
When is the India vs West Indies 5th T20I?
The series-deciding 5th T20I of the India vs West Indies series will be played on Saturday, October 17, in Bengaluru.
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