India vs West Indies: Will it be a Batting Paradise in World T20 Semifinal

By: Drcricket7 Staff

The last time India played a match in Mumbai, it turned out to be a damp squib. Batting first, after winning the toss, three South African batsmen, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis and AB de Villiers, made a mockery of the Indian bowling attack

Very clearly, India was never likely to be in the contention for the World T20 at home if the establishment continued with the same kind of team combination.

The need of the hour was to tweak the team combination by bringing in a bit of experience. That worked wonders for the team and India are on the threshold of making history, once again, as they take on the West Indies in the second semifinal of the World T20 Championship, in Mumbai, on Thursday.

The only thing that didn’t change after the India-South Africa match was the Mumbai pitch, which continued to haunt the bowlers. A day after India lost to New Zealand in the opening game of the main draw on March 15, Chris Gayle of the West Indies enthralled the Mumbai spectators with a sizzling century against England.

So much so that it still reverberates in the Wankhede stands on the eve of the India vs West Indies semifinal clash. Will the Thursday match be another run-riot in Mumbai?

It seems quite clear that the pitch will have something for both bowlers and batsmen. Which means that it won’t be a one-sided affair, where the batsmen have ruled the roost.

An even contest between the bat and ball is on the cards, otherwise who would take the guarantee of taming Gayle on a batting paradise? No one and not even India’s in-form bowler, Ashish Nehra, who has become the bowling captain of sorts for Team India.

Steps are also being taken to ensure that there is no war of words between the Indian team management and the grounds staff at the Wankhede happens again — the way it happened after India lost the ODI series to South Africa last October.

So who is going to win Thursday’s evening battle? Cricket is a game of glorious uncertainty and no one can really predict the winner. But going by what happened in last couple of weeks, India have the slight edge over the West Indies.

Firstly, they are playing at home and the track record of the Indian team is better than their semifinal opponent. India were also able to beat the West Indies during the first practice match before the World T20 Championship begun.

Strength wise, India have all the ammunition in place for the big match. Of courses, there are a few concerns like the lack of form of the top three batsmen in the line-up, fitness issue of Yuvraj Singh, paranoid-dependence on Virat Kohli in big matches and dropping dolly catches.

But India still possess the zeal to beat all the odds. It’s the West Indies team which has all the work to do and that is to stop the confident Indian team from progressing further.