West Indies illustrate they can get in the mud and scrap

29th October, 2021, the West Indies have dug themselves another almighty hole and are hoping for some divine intervention to turn the tide. This time, they are facing Bangladesh and the West Indies are struggling, despite the Tigers being a pale shadow of themselves.

As has been the norm at this T20 World Cup, the West Indies have huffed and puffed in the Power Play. The ploy to promote Chris Gayle to open (probably his rightful spot) has also not paid off. Evin Lewis has succumbed to the run-scoring pressure and Shimron Hetmyer has also not covered himself in any glory.

Roston Chase, in a futile attempt to recreate Marlon Samuels’ magic scratches around and tries to keep things ticking. The problem, though, is that things aren’t ticking. Instead, the West Indies are being guilty of slipping deeper into the quicksand.

The dismissal of Hetmyer brings Kieron Pollard to the crease. This, by the way, is the highest the West Indies skipper has batted at the 2021 T20 World Cup. Perhaps he has rolled up his sleeves and wants to clear the mess that the defending champions have become synonymous with.

But he, too, finds it extremely tough to get going. He isn’t at peak physical fitness as well, meaning that he retires hurt mid-way, anxiously wanting his deputy Nicholas Pooran to take up the mantle and get the West Indies to a respectable total.

Pooran was back to his best against Bangladesh

Remember, Pooran hasn’t been able to buy a run at the T20 World Cup and the Indian Premier League that preceded it. He has been excellent in the Caribbean Premier League but that doesn’t count for a lot, considering the cauldron of pressure he has walked into against Bangladesh.

Then, for some reason, Mahmudullah decides to feed left-arm spin to Pooran – a variety of bowling Pooran absolutely slaughters. He strikes at 154.88 against them, by the way. In the IPL, that number zings up over 225. Unsurprisingly, the left-handed batter flicks a switch.

Balls that were previously hitting the bottom of the bat are now clattering off the meaty part of the willow and into the stands. The West Indies have the momentum they crave – momentum that is consolidated by Jason Holder and Pollard in the final over.

More importantly, they now have something to cling on to – a trait of their T20I game that hasn’t always been highlighted as a feature. But a characteristic they need in optimal condition to defend their crown.

They begin their bowling innings excellently and keep a lid on the run-scoring. Shakib Al Hasan, who is battling a leg injury but has been shunted up the order to capitalize on the Power Play, is barely getting any room to play his strokes.

Ultimately, he perishes to Andre Russell off a slower delivery (surprise, surprise). Holder then accounts for Mohammad Naim Sheikh a few balls later and Bangladesh, minutes after becoming the team in the ascendancy, suddenly find themselves in strife.

The West Indies continue to press the issue thereafter. However, the lack of runs on the board means that Bangladesh are always only a couple of boundaries away from keeping it in check.

In fact, it happens quite regularly till the 16th over. Bangladesh now require only 33 runs off 24 balls and have two set batters at the crease. Surely the end is nigh for the West Indies, right?

Over the years, countless sports enthusiasts have heard a phrase – a phrase which suggest that champion teams/individuals aren’t out of the game until they decide so. For a large chunk of the 2021 T20 World Cup, it seemed that the West Indies had reconciled themselves to a reality of relative mediocrity. At Sharjah, though, it was anything but that.

West Indies remain alive in the T20 World Cup

The West Indies scrapped. They scrapped a bit more. They eventually got across the line. Interestingly, the West Indies’ key contributors were Dwayne Bravo and Russell – cricketers who’ve often been criticized for not playing enough T20I cricket for the West Indies. Or, in blunter terms, who’ve been accused of not caring enough for the West Indies.

Bravo (L) was brilliant against Bangladesh

Those critics, though, were silenced quite remarkably at Sharjah. Not only did they bowl their team to victory, they did so in a manner indicative of a bunch of bowlers who cared. Or, in other words, who were trying their utmost to make their country win.

In fact, such has been the West Indies’ batting strength in the 2010s that people often forgot how crucial their bowlers have been to their success. Back in 2016, the Caribbean outfit seemed an all-conquering machine.

Well, at least until they rocked up in Nagpur – a venue where the ball arrived a day after it was released. They lost to Afghanistan at the ground, mind you. But, they also got the better of South Africa, courtesy of a dexterous display by their bowling unit.

Four years before that game, they found themselves in a similar quandary against New Zealand at Pallekele. Again, on a surface that wasn’t conducive to stroke-making and only allowed the West Indies to post 139.

The fact that they won the match in the Super Over has been fabled. Rightly so too. What is forgotten, though, is that they ensured the match lasted the distance, despite the Kiwis needing 25 runs off 20 balls with five wickets still in the shed.

The common theme in both the aforementioned fixtures – well, the West Indies’ rather unheralded ability to eke out victories, even when it seems easy to act as millionaires and let the game meander.

By the way, post these games, West Indies’ T20 World Cup campaign changed. In 2016, the two scratchy games at Nagpur were followed by two astonishing displays of power-hitting against India (in the semi-final) and England.

In 2012, it gave way to what has now become a watershed victory against Australia in the semi-final. Not only did it show the world that the West Indies – a band of hastily assembled T20 superstars, could collectively be a force, it also paved the way for a brand of batting that has defined the West Indies.

At times it has been their greatest nemesis too, make no mistake about it. In fact, it was on display against England and South Africa very recently. The West Indies drew a fair amount of flak as well because they seemed quite unresponsive to the singles on offer.

But what they’ve done now is that they’ve bided themselves a bit of time. Eventually, the West Indies will get things right with the bat or at least that is what their faithful would hope.

Their batting style, which often resembles millionaires at a sparkling car showroom wanting to buy everything but ending up with nothing, might even hint that they don’t really bat an eyelid when the outcome goes pear-shaped. Deep inside, though, they do. They wouldn’t have won 2 T20 World Cups had they not.

Till that time arrives in this particular edition, they needed a slight buffer – a buffer that keeps their head above the sand. It enables them to inject momentum into their campaign, becoming the all-conquering force they can still be.

The victory against Bangladesh wasn’t pretty and there are no two ways about it. Yet, in the grander scheme of things, it could be as aesthetic as any, especially if the West Indies turn a corner like they’ve done at previous T20 World Cups.

For now, they’ve illustrated that they can get down in the mud and scrap for their lives. It is not the West Indian way. It certainly isn’t what their power-packed line-up promises. But for the time being, it is enough. And that, at the moment, is quite a lot.