India and West Indies will clash tonight in the much anticipated second semi-final of the T20 Cricket World Cup. Mind games had begun as soon as India ousted Australia from the tournament in their final group stage match with Chris Gayle announcing his intentions of targeting all Indian bowlers.
Here are a few things one needs to know before tonight's clash.
India and West Indies have so far faced off in four T20 matches. Both teams won 2 each. But, head-to-head record in World T20s is 2-1 in favour of West Indies.
Going into this semi-final contest, both teams have lost one match each in the super 10 stage. While India lost its inaugural match against New Zealand, the Windies were humbled by Afghanistan in their final group stage match.
India will once again be relying on Virat Kohli who, with his magnificent knock of 82, saw India through in a tough contest against Australia. But others in India's batting department, including Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina average just around 10. These underperforming Indian batsmen will be under tremendous pressure to score some runs.
Yuvraj Singh has been ruled out of the world cup due to an ankle injury he sustained during the game against Australia. Manish Pandey has been included in the Indian team in his place. Pandey had inspired a lot of confidence after he was given a chance to play in the team in Australia earlier this year.
The Windies have also had issues with player injuries and were forced to replace batsman Andre Fletcher with Lendl Simmons. Simmons has the experience of playing at the Wankhede with a fair amount of success too, as he was part of last year’s IPL champions Mumbai Indians’ campaign.
Gayle and Fletcher so far were the mainstay of the Caribbean batting, but the latter's absence makes the side much more vulnerable.
In bowling, Badree, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russel have been more successful in taking wickets.
Though the Wankhede pitch has produced three high-scoring games in the tournament so far. However, the track for the second semi-final may not be as batting friendly.
But India being the home side, and the crowd support for India at Wankhede will definitely add a bit of pressure for the Windies, and Virat Kohli's recent performances make India look a shade better than its opponent.
