India vs West Indies 2nd T20I: Prediction and Betting Tips

Key Stats

• In total, the two teams have met 17 times in T20Is with India leading 11-6, including nine of the last ten
• India has won their last five home T20I series and only lost one series in the last nine
• A win for Rohit Sharma’s team in the second T20I would set a new India record of eight T20I victories in a row
• West Indies beat England 3-2 in T20Is in Barbados in January and could win back-to-back series for the first time since 2018
• Before the England win, West Indies had only won six matches, drawn one and lost 12 since 2018.
• The visitors defeat in the opening match was their first in an opening game in their last six T20I bilateral series.

Rohit Sharma delivered in the opener

Rohit Sharma top scored with 40 in India’s reply on Wednesday (landing us a winning bet). That innings ensured India were ahead in the game when he was caught at long-on.

The Eden Gardens ground has been a happy hunting ground for the Indian skipper. He now averages 66.50 in ten innings across all formats.

His last two T20I innings in Kolkata have yielded at least 40. He’s a man worth backing again at 3.50 to be the top India batter again.

Rohit has scored the most runs in this fixture (559) with only Virat Kohli passing the 500-mark with him.

Virat and Ishan struggling

Kohli is experiencing a very rare run of low scores. His last four hits have produced 8, 18, 0 in the preceding ODI series and 17 in the opening T20I.

That is not comfortable Kohli territory, a man that averages 57.56 against his current opponents. He’s often previously been the pick to top score, but needs to show some form before he can be trusted.

The former Indian captain needs 56 runs to go past Martin Guptill as the highest T20I run scorer of all time. Rohit is only seven runs behind Kohli.

In Wednesday’s chase, India needed 29 off 20 balls before Suryakumar Yadav calmly took them across the line. SKY shared a 48-run unbeaten partnership with Venkatesh Iyer.

Ishan Kishan struggled with 35 off 42 balls and never really settled into his trademark carefree groove. He also gained an unwanted record. His strike-rate of 83.33 was the lowest rate for an Indian batter to have played 40+ balls in T20Is.

Is the bumper IPL price tag weighing him down? The 15.25 crore valuation from Mumbai Indians ($2.02 million) is a big purse to live up to.

Karl Mayers a top-order powerhouse

Karl Mayers was impressive in the recent England series after being promoted to open for the last two matches. The opener made 40 (23 balls) and 31 (19) and got his team off to a stellar start.

He began the India series with another powerful display, making 31 in 24 balls. Mayers was only usurped by Nicholas Pooran (61 off 43) in the top score market. Pooran is living up to his bumper IPL deal, but Mayers has appeal at a bigger price of 4.50 to top score.

Rovman Powell will continue to appeal to many punters, but his last T20I scores have been 23, 4, 6*, 107, 5, 32* and 2. The century in Barbados against England was an excellent showing. He is yet to show the consistency to make him backable.

Where did West Indies fall short?

“If I’m being honest, between overs six to 15 we scored too few runs,” admitted West Indies captain Kieron Pollard. “We were 15-20 runs short but if you take early wickets you can put them under pressure. We can dissect it till kingdom come but we have to execute. Hopefully come next game, that can happen.”

The shortest format is a game of very fine margins. India are winning the percentage battles.

Ravi Bishnoi’s spin was top class

The Indian spinners, Ravi Bishnoi and Yuzvendra Chahal, combined to claim three wickets in the 1st ODI. But it was the debutant Bishnoi that excelled.

From nerve & verve to a dream #TeamIndia debut!? ?

In his maiden Chahal TV appearance, @bishnoi0056 shares his emotions with @yuzi_chahal after India’s win in the 1⃣st @Paytm #INDvWI T20I. ☺️ ? – By @Moulinparikh

Watch the full interview ? ?https://t.co/HTjXQGKlg3 pic.twitter.com/5dMyWXUblu

— BCCI (@BCCI) February 17, 2022

It’s testament to the exposure that two seasons with Punkab Kings in the IPL has given the 21-year-old. He wasn’t phased at all by the step up, taking 2/17 in his four overs. Bishnoi was responsible for the middle over squeeze Pollard referred to.

West Indies batters did not play the prodigiously talented leg-spinner well. He’s worth looking at to succeed again and take the most wickets for India at 4.50.

Eden Gardens, Kolkata

The average first innings score in T20Is played at Eden Gardens is 152. It is 177 for teams who bat first and go on to win.

India has a 4:1 success rate at Eden Gardens and West Indies’ record stands at 1:2.

Team News

India’s vice-captain KL Rahul (hamstring) and all-rounder Axar Patel (recovering from Covid-19) were ruled out of the series. Ruturaj Gaikwad and Deepak Hooda were named as replacements. Washington Sundar suffered a hamstring strain when fielding in the third ODI. Kuldeep Yadav came in as the replacement.

India’s T20I squad: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Surya Kumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (vice-captain), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd. Siraj, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav.

West Indies T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (captain), Nicholas Pooran (vice-captain), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Hayden Walsh Jr.