As winter chills starts to settle in across Ranchi, dew is likely to play a major role during the second T20I between India and West Indies on Friday at the Jharkhand State Cricket Association (JSCA) International Stadium. Led by match-winning hundred, India are coming into the second T20I with a mammoth eight-wicket win over West Indies in the first game.
During India’s training sessions on the eve of the game, a thick layer of dew was visible along the sidelines, thus raising the prospect of difficult bowling conditions as the match progresses. The match starts at 7 PM IST, and certainly, the toss will play a huge role in the outcome of the game.
The pitch is expected to be another good batting surface as the batting-loaded India look to take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Ranchi has hosted just four T20Is with India as the host nation. Among the four, India won the toss in three and opted to chase in the games, which were played in October, November and January – the months when the dew falls in due to winter chills. The only game where India batted first after losing the toss was against in February.
During this time of the year where dew plays an important role in Ranchi, captains prefer to bowl first as it helps his or her bowlers to exploit any early seam or bounce with the new ball when conditions are dry. In the second innings, the ball gets wet because of the dew, thus making it difficult for the bowlers to grip the ball in wet and skiddy conditions.
Batters find it easy in the second innings to time the ball as it gets slippery and skid-friendly under lights and travels faster than in normal conditions.
India: (wk), , Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav/Prince Yadav
West Indies: Shai Hope (c&wk), Kamil Pooran, , Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Shamar Springer/Gudakesh Motie, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph
