India vs Windies | Predicted XI for 3rd T20I in Chennai
BCCI
India take on the Windies at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Sunday as the Men in Blue aim to complete a clean sweep of the T20I series after winning the first two matches. The management is expected to hand chances to the fringe players as the team gets ready for the much-awaited Australia tour next.
Openers
Rohit Sharma - The T20I captain just cannot stop scoring at the moment as he comes into this match after yet another marvelous ton in Lucknow that primarily took the match away from Windies. Rohit Sharma is also 69 runs away from overtaking Martin Guptill as the leading T20I scorer in
KL Rahul - Resting Rohit Sharma in place of Shikhar Dhawan was the first thought as it would have given both the erratic performers, Rahul and Dhawan, a chance to polish their skills ahead of the big tour. But, with Sharma’s milestone approaching and him being in supreme form, it makes more sense for the management to bench the southpaw who has made just 48 runs in the opening two T20Is.
Middle Order
Shreyas Iyer - Iyer could be an experiment the management wants to make going into this game with KL Rahul moving up the order. Iyer has played the shortest format in national
Rishabh Pant - Pant needs to step up now. This series was supposed to be a
Dinesh Karthik - Undoubtedly the most important player in the middle order today, the veteran has to assure that he stays on and gets the job done regardless of India batting first or chasing. Fortunately, he hasn’t shown the hastiness the other middle order players have shown so far, and even if the opening duo collapses India could rely on him.
Manish Pandey - It is unfortunate that Pandey hasn’t seen too many chances following his disastrous season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in terms of batting. But, the hard hitter has proven his worth before and Sunday will give him another chance to win the management’s trust. He has also been included in the Australia series and would hope to make this match as a springboard to get into the first eleven down under.
Krunal Pandya - Not the most vibrant on the field like his brother and neither is he known for his big hits, but Krunal’s impact has been far greater in a subtler way. He has easily been one of the better players in the series doing exactly what has been needed of him. During India’s chase in Kolkata he came in the lower order to score a quick 21 off 9 balls, and while defending a total in Lucknow, his economic bowling didn’t let Windies flex their muscles. He seems a horse for the long race.
Bowlers
Washington Sundar - With Kuldeep Yadav already declared to be out of the game, it will be exciting to see the bench options taking their chances. Sundar will have big shoes to fill especially after Jason Holder revealed that Yadav was the main reason Windies batsmen collapsed in the last match. However, being a Tamil Nadu player, Sundar would know the spin-friendly Chidambaram pitch well and India would hope to make the most of his experience.
Yuzvendra Chahal - Without his partner in crime on the other end, the onus would majorly be on Chahal to lead the spinning attack. The RCB man has struggled to pick wickets in the series so far, managing only two wickets in three matches and also becoming Windies’ prey in the process. He will be hoping to get in the selectors’ good books again.
Siddarth Kaul - With Umesh Yadav and Jasprit Bumrah not playing today, Siddarth Kaul could be given a chance ahead of Khaleel Ahmed. With three spinners already in the side, India would need two pacers to balance the side and with Kaul’s prior experience in limited-overs, he could come in handy alongside Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar- Not having Bumrah shouldn’t be a problem for India as they will have Bhuvneshwar to spearhead the pacing trio. He has the ability to get wickets with both the new and old ball and although he is yet to be fully fit, the side would want to keep his going for the game in order to get a fully firing Bhuvi against the Aussies.
