The second match of the five-match T20 International series being played between India and West Indies is to be played at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. After suffering a one-sided and crushing defeat in the first match of the series, the visiting Caribbean team seems to be on the back foot. The dominance shown by the Indian team with both ball and bat in the opening match of the series played in Lucknow has forced the West Indies think tank to rethink its strategies. On the eve of the match, West Indies bowling coach and former legendary fast bowler Ravi Rampal, while talking to the media, openly discussed the weaknesses of his team and the outline of the upcoming match. He clearly admitted that if West Indies have to make a comeback in this series, then their batsmen will have to break the spin of the Indian spinners.
Ravi Rampal stressed in the official press conference held in Ranchi that the team will have to avoid continuously playing dot balls to the Indian spinners and focus on rotating the strike by taking singles-doubles. Analyzing the first T20 match played at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow, he reminded that West Indies had made a bright start but by the end of the powerplay, they lost their three key wickets in the form of Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and Rovman Powell. After this, the Indian spinners tightened their grip in the middle overs and did not give any opportunity to the Caribbean batsmen to play freely and the entire team was reduced to 171 runs in 19.1 overs. Rampal said that Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope play spin bowling very well in the middle order. When these batsmen stay at the crease and take the innings forward, the team always manages to score a big and challenging score. Therefore, the main strategy in the second match will be that the batsmen who are experts in spin should play till the end.
In the first T20 match, Indian team captain Shreyas Iyer displayed incredible batting performance. Chasing the target of 172 runs, the Indian team, despite initial setbacks, won the match in just 14.4 overs and took a 1-0 lead in the series. Captain Shreyas Iyer scored the first stormy century of his T20 international career, playing an unbeaten inning of 102 runs, which included 10 skyscraper fours and 6 spectacular sixes. At the other end, Ishan Kishan batted intelligently and rotated the strike. Ravi Rampal openly admitted that the plans that were prepared with the bowlers in the team meeting, the bowlers completely failed to implement them properly on the field. He said that as a coach, it is a very disappointing experience when the strategy made in the dressing room is not followed on the field.
This Ranchi match has become like a do or die situation for the West Indies team, because if the team misses here too, then the path of comeback in the series will become very difficult. Earlier, in the ODI series played between the two countries, the Caribbean batsmen had failed to understand the spin of the Indian spinners and the same old weakness came to the fore in the first T20 match in Lucknow also. There is every possibility of spinners getting additional help on Ranchi pitch also, in such a situation West Indies batsmen will have to show both technique and patience. Rampal believes that there are many aggressive players in his team who can hit big shots, but in modern T20 cricket, one cannot rely only on hitting boundaries, rather in Indian conditions, understanding the middle overs decides the biggest difference between victory and defeat.