Top 3 talking points from the T20I series between India and West Indies

The five-match T20 International series between the West Indies and India came to an end on not a pleasant note for the Indian team as the Rovman Powell-led side went on to clinch the series after winning the fifth and deciding T20I. Chasing a below-par total of 166 runs to win, the West Indies side went on to hunt down the total with 12 deliveries remaining.

West Indies won the series by a margin of 3-2 after being 2-0 up in the first two matches, but losing the next two matches, before being found themselves in a position where they had to win the fifth match of the series to seal the deal. In the final game, the Men in Blue have come under intense criticism after India was humiliated by the West Indies by an eight-wicket margin in Florida.

Let us look at the Top 3 talking points from the T20I series between India and West Indies:

1. Below-par captaincy by Hardik Pandya

One of the most disputable topics of discussion after the series was Hardik Pandya’s contribution to the series both as a captain as well as a player. As a player Hardik failed miserably and so did he when it comes to his batting. But his captaincy went under the scanner when with the bowling changes that the Indian skipper made throughout the series.

It is also under his captaincy that the Indian team has lost a T20I series in the last 25 months, which is indeed a dent in his young captaincy career.

2. Tilak Varma proving his mettle in international cricket

Amid the Indian team losing the series one of the major silver lining for the Indian team is the form of Tilak Varma as the way he has batted throughout this series. Tilak looked sublime in his approach as the southpaw batter smashed 173 runs in the five matches that he played in Indian colors.

The star left-hand batter scored runs at an average of 57.67 as well as with a brilliant strike rate of 140.65. The performance from Tilak has made his case strong for the upcoming Asia Cup as well as ODI World Cup 2023.

3. Nicholas Pooran’s terrific run in the series

There is no denying the fact that one of the major reasons which helped the West Indies team to win the series was their wicketkeeper batter, Nicolas Pooran. Pooran was prolific with the bat throughout the series. 

The star West Indian batter who scored a brilliant 176 runs at a healthy average of 35.20 and an astonishing strike rate of 141.94, was a key player. In actuality, the wicketkeeper-batter was the only batter from either team to score more runs.