IND vs WI 2023: 3 Player battles to watch out for in 3rd T20I

Another close defeat in the second T20I against the West Indies (WI) saw Team India go 2-0 down in the five-match series in Guyana on Sunday. The Men in Blue once again gave an average batting performance with Tilak Varma being the only shining light.

Although Hardik Pandya got his team to a dream start in the second innings with two wickets in his first over, Nicholas Pooran blew the visitors away with a sizzling 67. Some wickets at the end did bring the game close, but the hosts had the batting depth needed to get the job done.

There was a lot of talk about how Hardik Pandya got the match-up wrong by not letting Yuzvendra Chahal complete his quota in the 18th over. This goes to show how crucial it is for India to win match-ups in the third T20I to ensure they stay alive in the series.

On that note, let's take a look at three such match-ups:

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#3 Suryakumar Yadav vs Alzarri Joseph

The poor ODI run has caught up with Suryakumar Yadav in the shortest format as well and he seems out of form. A run-a-ball 21 in the first T20I followed by just 1(3) due to a run-out, SKY's back-to-back failures in T20Is have been a pretty rare occurrence.

The star batter will look to get back at his best in the third T20I and his match-up against Alzarri Joseph could be the perfect one for him to assert his dominance once again. In 43 balls faced from Joseph in T20 cricket, SKY has been dismissed once but has also scored a staggering 103 runs.

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#2 Shubman Gill vs Akeal Hosein

Apart from his T20I century in Ahmedabad, Shubman Gill hasn't had much to show in his international career as far as the shortest format is concerned. Having had a sub-standard tour across formats so far, Gill will want to make amends and get back into his groove.

However, the right-hander has struggled against left-arm spin and his numbers against Akeal Hosein tell the story. In 10 balls, Gill has scored just three runs and has been dismissed once. It will be interesting to see how the opener plays this match-up, especially if Hosein comes on to bowl in the powerplay.

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#1 Nicholas Pooran vs Ravi Bishnoi

Ravi Bishnoi's T20I comeback was a highly-anticipated one as many fans believe he has the potential to become a world-class bowler in this format. However, he was absolutely taken to the cleaners by Nicholas Pooran in the previous T20I.

Turning the ball away from the left-handers, one would feel Bishnoi would have an edge over Pooran. However, the numbers are lopsided in the southpaw's favor as in 51 balls in T20Is, he has scored 69 runs and hasn't been dismissed even once by the Indian spinner. This match-up could well decide if India can win the third T20I.