India vs West Indies, World T20 Semifinal: Virat Kohli or Chris Gayle, Who Will Come up Trumps?
India's World T20 semifinal against West Indies is a clash between two teams which are abundant with players who can excel in the shortest format of cricket. While one team has the likes of Virat Kohli and Mahendra Singh Dhoni, the other has Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo.
- Abhishek Paul
- Updated: March 31, 2016 12:56 pm IST
Highlights
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Virat Kohli's batting form has been a highlight of the World T20
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Chris Gayle has smashed a 48-ball century against England
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Rohit Sharma's form has been disappointing
India's World T20 semifinal clash with West Indies will not only be a tussle among two of the best T20 teams in the world currently, but also among players who have time and again proved their ability to win matches single-handedly. (India vs West Indies semifinal: live blog)
A look at the key individual clashes that could well decide which team will play the final in Kolkata on April 3. (India vs West Indies, World T20 Semi-Final - Factbox)
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1. Virat Kohli vs Samuel Badree
Virat Kohli, after his match-winning 82 not out versus Australia that took India into semifinals, was compared to Sachin Tendulkar, Brian Lara, Viv Richards and Don Bradman! In India's long batting line-up, he has been the shining star.
However, apart from his knock against Aussies and the 55 not out against Pakistan, he failed to live up to his lofty potential - vs Bangladesh (24) and vs New Zealand (23). And on both these occasions, he fell to spinners Shuvagata Hom and Ish Sodhi, respectively. While Hom bowled Kohli with a quicker ball, Sodhi's leg-break was misread by the Indian star and he was stumped.
Badree, West Indies' most successful bowler so far with six scalps, would definitely fancy his chances to topple Kohli. Badree is also the Darren Sammy-led team's second most economical bowler (5.46).
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2. MS Dhoni vs Suleiman Benn
MS Dhoni's reputation as India's best finisher has once again been established in the World T20. He has stayed unbeaten against Pakistan, Bangladesh and Australia.
After Virat Kohli, he is also India's most successful batsman with a tally of 74 in four matches. The only time he got out was against New Zealand, when he went for the big shot against the left-arm spin of Mitchell Santner, in an unsuccessful chase.
Another left-arm spinner, Suleiman Benn is West Indies' most economical bowler at 4.93. And negotiating him might be tricky for Dhoni.
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3. Rohit Sharma vs Dwayne Bravo
Rohit Sharma's campaign has been quite cold so far - with scores of 5, 10, 18 and 12. For India's only second batsman to score a ton in T20Is, this is a rather frustrating statistic. However, at his home-ground - Mumbai, he will be a dangerous player.
Nobody can doubt Rohit's potential, and especially Dwayne Bravo - who has seen him from close quarters in the Indian Premier League.
Medium-pacer Bravo is West Indies second best bowler in the World T20 after Samuel Badree. Tackling him can be tricky for Rohit, who has fallen to medium pacers or pacers in three of the four occasions in the 2016 World T20.
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4. Chris Gayle vs Ashish Nehra
If Chris Gayle fires then there is no bowler in the world that can stop him. His pyrotechnics again came to fore against England as he scored 48-ball 100 not out to become the first batsman to score two tons in World T20s.
The knock included 11 sixes and five fours and was scored at the same venue where the semifinal will be played. And if he is not dismissed early, it might be the end of India's campaign.
And here comes Ashish Nehra, who has been brilliant for India in the early overs. With a tally of four wickets and economy of 5.93, he will be crucial to India's chances.
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5. Marlon Samuels vs Ravindra Jadeja
Marlon Samuels is a big match player. In 2012, when West Indies lifted the World T20, he was the man of the match in the final against Sri Lanka, with a 55-ball 78. He has so far had a decent tournament with a tally of 88 runs in four tournaments.
He has the ability to go for the boundaries at crucial moments and the left-arm spin of Ravindra Jadeja, who is India's second-most economical bowler (5.86) will have to do the magic to stop him. Jadeja, with four wickets, is also India's joint second-highest wicket-taker.