India vs Windies | Visitors will look to put pressure on Indian batsmen, says Sunil Gavaskar

11/04/2018

Sunil Gavaskar has backed the Windies’ bowlers to pile pressure on the Indian batting line-up in the absence of in-form skipper Virat Kohli. India is slated to take on the visitors in a three-match T20I series that is slated to begin on November 4 (Sunday) at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India has stamped their dominance over the visiting Windies team over the course of the past month after the home team raced away to a 2-0 and 3-1 win in the Test and ODI series respectively. However, the young Caribbean squad has shown signs of promise in the ongoing tour as the likes of Shimron Hetmeyer and Shai Hope impressing the recent limited overs series.

And former Indian Test cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, backed the Windies to only go from strength to strength as they gear up to face a Virat Kohli-less India team under the leadership and Rohit Sharma. Gavaskar spoke about how the key for the visitors will be their bowling department’s ability to constantly pressurize the Indian batting line-up.

"India won the Test match series and the One-Day series without breaking into a sweat. Despite the tie at Vizag and the loss at Pune, the Indian team were barely stretched as they cantered to easy wins in the other three games. The Windies, of course, don't have their best players available for these two formats as they are busy playing for some franchise or the other in the various T20 leagues that have mushroomed all over the cricketing globe.

"India are also without their regular skipper Virat Kohli, and even though they have shown that they can win without him in the Asia Cup and the odd match where he fails to score a hundred, it is a huge psychological plus for the Windies.

"They will hope to put pressure on the Indian batting and hope that early wickets expose the newer Indian batsmen to pressure. India's players have plenty of experience of the T20 format because of the IPL, but as we have seen in the past, playing for a franchise and playing internationally are two different things altogether. India have included plenty of slow bowlers as taking the pace off the ball makes it harder for the big shots to be played but then, power hitters can mishit into the stands too," Gavaskar wrote in his column for TOI.

The former Indian opener also spoke about how the Indian team will miss the invaluable presence of veteran cricketer, MS Dhoni. However, he added that Dhoni’s absence would give the likes of Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik an opportunity to show their worth and cement a spot in the Indian squad.

"Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also not in the Indian team and this is a great opportunity for Rishab Pant and Dinesh Karthik to try and cement a place in the team for the foreseeable future. Both have top records in the IPL and will be keen to replicate that form for India too. Then there is Krunal Pandya who also has shown he is a street-smart player who relishes a fight. It will be a close series and there is no better starting point than the iconic Eden Gardens in Kolkata," Gavaskar concluded.

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