IND vs WI: 3 reasons why India lost fourth T20I against West Indies
The 5-match T20I series between India and the West Indies has reached a thrilling juncture. In the fourth match, the visiting team made a spectacular comeback, defeating India by 24 runs and pushing the series into a decider. The winner of the fifth and final T20I, to be played on October 17 at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in Bengaluru, will clinch the series. Few would have anticipated that the Indian team would find themselves in a winner-takes-all situation against the West Indies, especially in home conditions.
In the fourth T20I held at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad, the Caribbean side—bolstered by a magnificent century from captain Shai Hope—posted a massive total of 247 runs. Shai Hope bludgeoned an unbeaten 102 off 50 balls, clinching his second century of the series. In response, Team India was bundled out for 223. Following this defeat, the players' performance and the decision to prepare a flat pitch have once again drawn significant criticism on social media. In this article, we will examine three major reasons why India lost the fourth T20I against the West Indies.
1. Toothless Bowling Attack
In this match, the Indian team won the toss and decided to bowl first. However, this decision proved unsuccessful as the Indian bowlers failed to take early wickets, while the West Indies team continued to score runs at a rapid pace. At one end, Hope played cautiously—protecting his wicket while maintaining a steady scoring rate—whereas the other batters kept playing their shots. The Indian bowlers managed to claim only 3 wickets in 20 overs, allowing the West Indies to put up a big total. The West Indies innings featured three half-century partnerships, which propelled them to a substantial score of 247/3. Arshdeep Singh, Axar Patel, and Prince Yadav each took one wicket for India, with Prince Yadav being the only bowler to maintain an economy rate under 10.
2. Middle order failure
Chasing a mammoth target of 248 runs requires an explosive start from the top order, and that is exactly what Sanju Samson (56 off 23) provided. He reached his fifty in just 20 balls, giving Team India a blistering start; however, following his dismissal, the team lost wickets at regular intervals. India’s middle order failed miserably—Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, and Naman Dhir all performed poorly—leaving the side buckling under the pressure of the steep target. Abhishek Sharma scored 29 runs in 24 balls. Although Tilak Varma (43 off 25) and Nitish Kumar Reddy (41 off 20) offered a glimmer of hope, it was not enough to steer the team to victory.
3. Ordinary leadership and disappointing fielding effort
The Indian team's performance under the captaincy of Shreyas Iyer in the T20I format has been quite ordinary so far. The team has already lost series against Ireland and England, and should things go awry in the fifth T20I against the West Indies, another series could slip from their grasp. Iyer is clearly feeling the absence of wicket-taking options during the middle overs, which has meant the team has failed to build pressure on the opposition. No one has yet understood the reasoning behind resting Kuldeep Yadav. In the middle overs, the management is always faced with the dilemma of which bowler to deploy and whose overs to save for the death overs. Furthermore, the team's fielding has also been quite mediocre; fielders have missed a few catches and run-out opportunities, preventing the team from exerting pressure on the opposition.
