5th T20I: India Look To Mend Batting Flaws Against West Indies And Seal Series

With the West Indies proving to be unexpectedly feisty so far, India would need to iron out some of their hidden batting flaws to counter the visitors in what is expected to be a high-scoring and evenly-contested series-deciding fifth T20I in Bengaluru on Saturday. The preceding four run feasts have done India a massive disservice by masking the multiple failings in their batting unit. The two sides are currently locked 2-2 in the rubber. For the hosts, problems start with the top two.

Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma have had moments of individual brilliance, striking three fifties between them. But their contributions as an opening pair read 29, 42, 7 and 60.

The 60-run stand in Hyderabad was also slightly misleading, as Samson scored 56 of those runs while Abhishek added a mere two.

Once the stand was broken, the middle order could not step up this time.

Ishan Kishan, skipper Shreyas Iyer and Naman Dhir failed to capitalise on the start provided by Samson, highlighting the gradual decline of the hosts' core in this series.

Iyer scored 102 in the first T20I at Lucknow, but his next three outings have yielded 40, 1 and 16. A defeat here will certainly dent Iyer's image as captain too.

After away losses to Ireland and England, he regained some lost ground with wins over Zimbabwe and Afghanistan.

Although Iyer is in no danger of losing his position, he will face questions about his ability to guide the team through pressure situations against an experienced and aggressive opposition.

At No. 3, Kishan promised something more substantial than his eventual scores of 43, 37 and 6. However, his untimely misadventures against Roston Chase and Keemo Paul ended what should have been bigger knocks.

Dhir, on the other hand, has not managed to get going with the bat, scoring 4, 10 and 0.

Even Tilak Varma and Nitish Kumar Reddy failed to find a boundary for 18 balls between overs 12.1 and 14.4 in Hyderabad, a serious lapse while chasing a target as big as 248.

They eventually succumbed to the pressure created by the ever-rising asking rate and the resulting need to find two or three boundaries every over.

Will Kuldeep return?

Generally, the M Chinnaswamy Stadium is a nightmare for bowlers, with its flat pitch and short boundaries.

However, the venue has not hosted an international match since the first Test against New Zealand in October 2024, and there have been no high-profile games apart from a handful of IPL clashes during this period.

That unfamiliarity with the pitch could level the playing field to a certain extent.

In that context, India might consider bringing back Kuldeep Yadav.

Benched for the third and fourth matches, the left-arm wrist-spinner would add a touch of experience to a unit that relies on Arshdeep Singh and Axar Patel for control and wickets.

Both Arshdeep and Axar have given their best in this series, but the batting-friendly surfaces on offer have blunted their effectiveness to some extent.

Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav, Dhir and Reddy have not quite managed to contain the Caribbean batters, although that has not been entirely their fault.

Hence, the team management would want to add an experienced campaigner to the mix for the series-decider.

Kuldeep's ability to stem the flow of runs in the middle overs could come in handy, especially if visiting skipper Shai Hope and the explosive Sherfane Rutherford bat deep.

Both Hope and Rutherford have been thorns in India's flesh, scoring 261 and 221 runs respectively, to occupy the top two spots in the series batting charts.

It is imperative for India to dismiss them early to keep the tourists under pressure, as they did during their 14-run win at Indore in the third T20I.

A series victory here would be an unexpected bonus for the West Indies, who have recently announced a slew of measures to revive cricket in the Caribbean islands.

In the end, it could come down to who blinks first on another potentially batting-friendly strip. However, there is no doubt that India will be under greater pressure to deliver.

But all of this drama will unfold only if the autumn rain, which has been lashing the city for the past few days, stays away.

(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

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