Bengaluru: India will be looking to keep their long unbeaten record at home intact as the reigning two-time champions face former double T20 winners West Indies in the fifth and final T20I of the series at the M Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru on Saturday, with rain around.
The high-scoring feast series has seen 220-plus totals vulnerable. The Windies have chased 250, defended 247 by 24 runs and came close to the 224-run target in three of these four contests.
The series has tested bowlers left, right and centre and India’s bowling has been under the scanner. What will be the life after Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya? The answer remains unsolved as of now.
A near full-strength Indian team, sans Bumrah, Hardik and Washington Sundar, has been put to the test.
Shai Hope is having one of the most successful series from a visiting player in India. He has already hit four centuries on the tour - two in ODIs and two in T20Is - and has been the difference between the two sides almost on every occasion. Whenever he has gone unbeaten, the Windies have won those three games on this white-ball tour.
He has hit 539 runs in five games and with another possible run feast awaiting in Bengaluru, Hope will hope to flex his muscles once more. If the Windies manage to win this game too, they will become the first team to beat India in India in a T20I series since they lost to Australia 0-2 in February 2019.
Meanwhile, India have been bolstered by the addition of Bhuvneshwar Kumar, whose IPL home stadium is the M Chinnaswamy Stadium for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru.
He has been added as injury cover for Arshdeep Singh, who was hit on his bowling arm while batting in the last over of the previous match in Hyderabad, where India came close to chasing 248. Bhuvi was earlier added to India’s T20I squad for the five-match series in New Zealand.
India would also look to Sanju Samson, who has scored two half-centuries in this series. Abhishek Sharma has looked solid in the third T20I but had a rare struggle in the fourth match when he made 29 from 24 balls.
There is a possible threat of rain intervening in this clash, with showers predicted. If not for the rain showers, sixes raining are almost on the cards, and India would want to lead in the number of maximums if they have to keep their home record intact. IANS
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