(Cricinfo) March 31, 2016, Mumbai. West Indies outgunned India in the semi-final and went onto become World T20 champions. They have fallen off the perch since and are currently No. 10 on the ICC T20I rankings , but don’t let that fool you. More than three years after knocking India out at the Wankhede Stadium, West Indies are back at the venue, preparing for their title defence in Australia next year.
Their two CPL 2019 stars – batsman Brandon King and legspinner Hayden Walsh Jr.- have gelled in nicely while Lendl Simmons has proved that he still has it. Kieron Pollard has been inventive with his captaincy and the seamers Kesrick Williams and Sheldon Cottrell have impressed with their canny variations in pace and length.
However, it is West Indies’ power-hitting that could be their biggest strength on what’s likely to be a familiar, flat Wankhede track today. Let’s not even bring up the short boundaries. The likes of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Simmons kept clearing the longer boundaries in Thiruvananthapuram with considerable ease. And ahead of the series opener in India, West Indies had trained at full tilt in Mumbai before heading to Hyderabad. Plus, Simmons, Evin Lewis and Pollard himself have spent enough time with Mumbai Indians to crack the winning formula at the Wankhede Stadium: just keep hitting sixes.
West Indies, though, will have to contend with the absence of finisher Fabian Allen, who still hasn’t recovered from a knee injury.
India have issues of their own to deal with. They need to tighten their catching and fielding, particularly under lights, and they probably need more from their lower middle order against West Indies, who, in contrast, are armed with a variety of six-hitters. With the series on the line in Mumbai, India might not experiment with their XI, but on the eve of the game India’s white-ball vice-captain Rohit Sharma didn’t rule out the possibility of the hosts being flexible with their batting line-up.
