India need openers to shine in crucial 4th T20I against WI

Opener Shubman Gill will hope to get back in form against West Indies today. Pic/AFP

India will hope that batsmen will helm their march towards a series-levelling victory over the West Indies with another impact effort in the fourth T20I here on Saturday.

India might have stayed afloat with a win in the third T20I, but Windies still lead the series 2-1, a quick reminder to the fact that the visitors still have concerns surrounding the batting unit.

It was a comforting sight indeed to see Suryakumar Yadav flicking on his beast mode and Tilak Varma chipping in with crucial runs. But India's opening combination continued to falter.

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India had handed T20I debut to Yashasvi Jaiswal, resting Ishan Kishan. But for the third successive match, the pair at the totem pole position failed to impress, making just six runs. Jaiswal got out to pacer Obed McCoy in the first over itself.

In the previous two matches, Kishan and Shubman Gill had managed to score just five and 16 for the first wicket to place some amount of pressure on the middle-order. Whether India will bring back Kishan for this match remains to be seen, but the management will hope for a more potent outing from the openers in a must-win match.

That India do not have a handy bat lower down the order, makes it mandatory for batsmen at the top to deliver. India have deployed Axar Patel at No. 7 to maintain the balance and they might continue to adopt the five-bowler policy.

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