Fantasy: India heavy team the way to go?

After winning the One-Day International (ODI) series against the West Indies comprehensively, India turn their attention the T20 Internationals (T20I), with the first game set to be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad.

Rohit Sharma will return to lead India after he was rested for the ODI leg, while the hosts are boasted by the returns of Shimron Hetmyer and also Jason Holder, who missed the T20Is against Bangladesh recently.

India have the upper hand over the Windies given that they have not lost against them for 2.5 years. In fact, West Indies have beaten India just once in the last 12 matches.

Ground details

This will be the first-ever T20I at the Brian Lara Stadium. In fact, the last T20 game played here was in 2020. Based on the data from the previous edition of the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) played at this venue, back in 2020, the wicket share is quite evenly-poised with a slight tilt towards the spinners who have picked up 51.2% of the wickets at the venue.

The spinners have been quite miserly as well conceding runs at just 6.1 runs per over, while the pacers have an economy rate of 8.2. The fast bowlers have struck once every 25.9 runs, 18.9 deliveries apart, while the corresponding numbers for the spinners are 21.1 and     20.6 respectively.

Suggested team

While you could go for the above team, you also have the option of choosing your team from Cricket.com’s Fantasy Research Centre. You can use this tool to build your team with the help of algorithms. Then, based on your preferences, the platform will guide you through creating the ideal fantasy XI.

Captaincy and vice-captain suggestions

For small leagues: Suryakumar Yadav (c), Jason Holder (vc)

For Grand leagues: Nicholas Pooran (c), Hardik Pandya (vc)

Stats that matter

Only South Africa (12.2) have been more expensive than West Indies (11.3) and India (10.9) at the death this year.

Striking at 200.7 in T20Is this year, no batter has a batter strike-rate than Suryakumar Yadav amg those who have scored at least 100 runs. Surya has hit 293 runs this year so far and has a fifty and a hundred to show for his effort.

It has taken Jason Holder just seven T20I innings to pick up 16 wickets in T20Is this year. He is West Indies’ leading wicket-taker this year, striking every 13.6 runs, 9.9 deliveries apart.

India are just one wicket away from becoming the first team to pick up 100 T20I wickets this year. Zimbabwe (82), Ireland (80) and West Indies (76) are well behind them.

India have the best balls per boundary ratio this year, finding the fence once every 4.7 deliveries. Also, only New Zealand (9.6) have scored at a better run-rate than India (9.5) in 2022. 

Grand League punts

No batter has scored more runs than Nicholas Pooran in T20Is this year. The West Indies captain has scored 456 runs at 57 along with a strike-rate of 136.5. He has also hit five fifties which is the most for any player in 2022.

With Hardik Pandya slowly and steadily returning to bowl his full quota, it adds another dimension to his and India’s game. The all-rounder has picked up six wickets at 27.8 and with the bat, he has scored 217 runs at 43.4 along with a strike-rate of close to 150, which are excellent numbers.

*All stats till July 28, 2022. 

*All stats are from full-member teams/players unless stated otherwise.

Here are top Criclytics Projections

Probable XIs:

India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan/Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda/Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Axar Patel/Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav/Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh/Avesh Khan

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd/Keemo Paul, Dominic Drakes, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh