3 things India needs to do right to defeat West Indies in 2nd T20I

Team India would have been gutted to fall short in the first T20I against West Indies (WI) at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad on Thursday.

Chasing just 150 runs to win, the visitors lost wickets at regular intervals and made a meal of the run-chase, following short by four runs. The WI bowlers led by Jason Holder made an inspired comeback in the final five overs and India couldn't finish the game despite needing just 37 runs from 30 balls with six wickets in hand.

With the T20 World Cup to be played next year in similar conditions, Hardik Pandya and Co. have some learnings to take from the defeat. Here are three things that India have to work on if they are to make a comeback in the second T20I:

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#3 Rotate Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill

Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill were unable to get India off to a good start in the first T20I. The southpaw in particular is having a torrid time in the shortest format for the Men in Blue, with just one 30+ score in his last 15 innings.

As Gill and Ishan are likely to be part of India's ODI World Cup plans, it could be ideal for the visitors to give Yashasvi Jaiswal his T20I debut on Sunday. Preferably, looking at the right-left combination, Gill could open with Jaiswal, while Sanju Samson can be the wicket-keeper.

Jaiswal has shown that he has the ability to be explosive from ball one and the Men in Blue might just need those quick starts to help post a big total. He slammed over 600 runs at a strike rate of 163.61 in the IPL 2023 for Rajasthan Royals.

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#2 Add batting depth

While teams like England and Australia have T20 specialists who can bowl as well as use the long handle, India still continue to play specialist bowlers. The tail-enders have not been able to contribute quick runs down the order.

This was seen in the first T20I when Kuldeep Yadav batted at No.8 and the lack of batting depth cost the visitors the game. India need to deepen their batting to help their batters express themselves without worrying about losing too many wickets. Playing possibly Ravi Bishnoi at No.8 could give just that added cushion that the batting line-up needs.

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#1 Show better game awareness

Arguably the biggest mistake that the visitors made in the first T20I was a lack of match awareness in the chase. Suryakumar Yadav and Tilak Varma both got starts after the openers failed. However, the duo would be disappointed with the way they threw their wicket away.

Captain Hardik Pandya also played across the line, while Sanju Samson was run out while trying to take a risky single that could have been avoided. The Men in Blue need to be a tad smarter in their approach as the middle order was good enough to get the job done in Trinidad.