Day 1 of the Super 12 stage of the 2021 T20 World Cup has seen two low-scoring encounters. The South Africa vs Australia game at least had each team scoring over 100 runs. However, in the second encounter of the day, West Indies were bundled out for just 55 runs in the first innings. In this article, we take a look at the team selection mistake West Indies made that caused the collapse, according to a Twitter user.
West Indies get all-out for just 55 against England
The two-time champions are one of the best T20I teams in the game. They have power-hitters all around along with a decent bowling line-up. Hence, West Indies were considered as one of the favourites to lift the trophy.
However, Game 1 has not gone well for the men from the Caribbean Islands. They have been all-out for just 55 runs, although they had a strong batting line-up. Poor batting is one of the main reasons for the forgettable outing. The management also made a tactical mistake in the playing XI which resulted in the proceedings.
Team selection mistake West Indies made that caused the collapse
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As pointed out by a Twitter user, West Indies have too many left-handers at the top. The list includes Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran. All are top-order batters, and hence, they are required to carry the innings at least until 12 overs, after which the likes of Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell would take over.
West Indies could have avoided a lot of this if they just had Chase in.
Without him, as the lone right-hander, it puts immense pressure on Simmons and also makes it easier for opponents opponents to just bowl offspin, come what may.
Advertisement— Alagappan Vijayakumar (@IndianMourinho) October 23, 2021
Since Lendl Simmons is the lone right-hander at the top, he is under pressure to score runs whenever the opposition brings out a right-arm off-spinner. The same happened against England, and it was Moeen Ali who did the damage in the early stages. The user pointed out that if Roston Chase, who himself is a good hitter and an efficient stabilizer, was in the squad, West Indies could have avoided the tactical defeat.
