Ind vs WI 5th T20I – WI bowl in rain-reduced game, India bring in Bhuvneshwar

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was back in international cricket after four years in a nine-over contest at his IPL home ground. Immediately, he was set to bowl two overs in a defence in a series decider as West Indies won the toss and asked India to bat first.

Mayank Yadav sat out for Bhuvneshwar, called into the squad at the last minute as cover for Arshdeep Singh, who took a blow on his bowling shoulder when batting in the last match. As it turned out, Arshdeep recovered, but India probably went for Bhuvneshwar’s experience in a shortened match.

India also boosted their batting with the return of Shivam Dube for Nitish Kumar Reddy, who was unwell. Between Naman Dhir, Axar Patel and Dube, India needed to get three overs in.

West Indies were unchanged after coming from behind twice in the series. They were hoping to beat India in a home series for the first time in seven years.

The powerplay was reduced to 2.4 overs. Bowlers’ quota was capped at two overs.

India 1 Abhishek Sharma, 2 Sanju Samson (wk), 3 Ishan Kishan, 4 Shreyas Iyer (capt.), 5 Tilak Varma, 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Shivam Dube, 8 Axar Patel, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 10 Prince Yadav, 11 Arshdeep Singh

West Indies 1 Shai Hope (capt. & wk), 2 Jewel Andrew, 3 Shimron Hetmyer, 4 Rovman Powell, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Romario Shepherd, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Shamar Springer, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Shamar Joseph, 11 Gudakesh Motie.

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