India v West Indies preview, World T20, 2nd semi-final

West Indies’ travails against the turning ball are well documented, and last Sunday, Afghanistan reopened old wounds on the way to the team’s most famous victory to date. The Rashid Khan-led spin component was aided by a slow turner at the VCA Stadium in Jamtha. India’s spinners won’t quite get a similar track on which to ply their wares, but this is unlikely to be the belter where Gayle smashed England into submission a fortnight ago, or where England hunted down South Africa’s 229 with ridiculous ease.

That this will be the second game of the evening on the same track – the West Indies-New Zealand Women’s semifinal will precede the men’s game – should also contribute to the slowing up of a surface that has been worked on with great diligence over the last two days. India will therefore hope that Dhoni’s luck with the coin changes, but more importantly, it will hope for something that is in the team’s control – runs from the top order so that Kohli isn’t always under pressure at No. 3, or Dhoni at No. 6.

Two former champions, two crack T20 sides, two teams that covet the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow for the same, and different, reasons. East v West. What does Thursday night have in store?

Teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (capt, wk), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, Jasprit Bumrah, Ashish Nehra, Ajinkya Rahane, Pawan Negi, Harbhajan Singh, Mohammed Shami.
**West Indies:**Chris Gayle, Lendl Simmons, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Darren Sammy (capt), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn, Evin Lewis, Jason Holder, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor.