India’s issues while batting first came to the fore once again against a disciplined West Indies side during the second T20I at Thiruvanantapuram on Sunday (December 8) as the visitors registered a comfortable eight-wicket victory.
A below-par total was never going to be enough keeping the dew factor in mind and opener Lendl Simmons (67 no off 45 balls) along with Evin Lewis (40 off 35 balls) added 73 for the first wicket to seal the issue. West Indies reached the target with nine balls to spare.
With another poor day on the field barring an exceptional sidways running catch from skipper Virat Kohli, the Indian bowlers suffered, especially spinners Ravindra Jadeja (1/22 in 2 overs) and Yuzvendra Chahal (0/36 in 3 overs).
West Indies’ dominance was evident by the half-dozen sixes that they hit apart from 11 boundaries compared to five maximums by the hosts, four of which were hit by rookie all-rounder Shivam Dube.
Simmons hot four sixes while Lewis hit three and it helped that the spinners didn’t vary the length of their deliveries.
