After facing two back-to-back defeats in the ongoing five-match series, Team India will be taking on West Indies in the third T20I match on Tuesday. India will need to bat with the fearlessness they often talk about as they look to avoid a series defeat. The slow pitches on offer have not been the best for batting but as skipper Hardik Pandya pointed out after the loss on Sunday, India should have a found way to score additional 10-20 runs.
The top-order's failure has put extra pressure on the likes of Sanju Samson and rookie Tilak Varma, who has taken to international cricket like fish to water. With focus on ODIs in a World Cup year, Gill, Kishan and Suryakumar would want to be amongst runs ahead of the Asia Cup beginning August 31.
Here's what we think could be India's XI for the second T20I vs West Indies:
Yashasvi Jaiswal: After a dream start to his Test career, which saw him slam a century on his debut, Jaiswal will hope for a similar, if not better, start to his T20I career. There are chances that the management might give him a chance in the third match, replacing Sanju Samson.
Ishan Kishan: The wicketkeeper-batter, who had an outstanding form in the ODIs, failed to repeat his heroics in the T20Is as he got dismissed cheaply in both the matches. Kishan will hope to put on a show in the second T20I.
Shubman Gill: After a blistering season with the bat in the Indian Premier League, Gill's form has dipped in the ongoing tour. He failed to live up to the expectations in the first two matches but will look to bounce back in the third one.
Suryakumar Yadav: The vice-captain, who is known for his aggressive batting style in the shortest format, has been struggling for some quite some time now. In the second T20I, he was dismissed for 1 and will now aim for a big innings in the third match.
Tilak Varma: The 20-year-old batter left everyone utterly impressed with his maiden half-century in the second match. When the entire batting-un it miserably failed, Tilak took the responsibility and guided India to a respectable total.
Hardik Pandya: The skipper has been under criticism for his leadership in the ongoing series. However, no one can deny the fact that he performed really well with the ball in the second match as he took three wickets and brought Team India back into the game.
Axar Patel: The all-rounder scored 14 runs in the second T20I but was not given a chance to bowl. He definitely look for an opportunity to deliver a strong performance in the third T20I.
Ravi Bishnoi: The young right-handed spinner is known for his brilliant bowling but failed to get any wickets in the second match. However, he will eye redemption in the must-win game against West Indies.
Yuzvendra Chahal: The veteran leg-spinner turned out to be a game-changer for Team India as he scalped two crucial wickets in the second match. He also had a similar outing in the first match and will now aim to deliver even a better performance in the third T20I.
Mukesh Kumar: The 27-year-old pacer took one wicket but was quite expensive and leaked many runs. He will now look to deliver an economical spell in order to control the flow of runs.
Arshdeep Singh: The death-over specialist also turned out to be expensive in the second T20I, with only one dismissal in hand.