New Delhi: After the Indian T20I team lost the second T20I to the West Indies by two wickets on Sunday, August 6, falling behind 0-2 in the five-match series, former India fast bowler Venkatesh Prasad joined the team. India, under the leadership of Hardik Pandya, has struggled thus far in the series, dropping the first two T20Is despite mediocre performances with both bat and ball.

After India failed to hold the West Indies to 152 in the second T20I, Venkatesh Prasad, who had recently criticized the Indian white-ball team's performances, used his statement on social media to support his argument.

Tilak Varma's 41-ball 51 was the highest individual score for India, which chose to bat first and set a target of 153 runs. The West Indies team, however, beat the goal with seven balls to spare, thanks in large part to Nicholas Pooran's impressive 67 off 40 balls. Akeal Hosein and Alzarri Joseph were able to secure the victory with an unbroken 26-run stand, despite a late scare when the West Indies fell from 126-4 to 129-8.

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Hardik Pandya, who took three wickets for 35 runs to lead the Indian bowling attack, was unable to hold on to their total. But there has been debate over the decision to prevent Yuzvendra Chahal from bowling his final over.

Chahal played well, taking two crucial wickets in his third over and allowing only 19 runs to be scored. Had he been allowed to finish his spell, his dismissals of Shimron Hetmyer and Jason Holder might have altered the outcome of the game.

Very very ordinary. No point in brushing it aside. After the 2007 T20 World Cup, IPL started and we haven’t won a T20 World Cup in 7 attempts since, making only 1 finals. The intensity and hunger to win needs to be far more .
Yesterday after Yuzi took 2 wkts in the 16th, cont https://t.co/xNOfjqZJeG

— Venkatesh Prasad (@venkateshprasad) August 7, 2023

“Very very ordinary. No point in brushing it aside. After the 2007 T20 World Cup, IPL started and we haven’t won a T20 World Cup in 7 attempts since, making only 1 final. The intensity and hunger to win need to be far more. Yesterday (Sunday), after Yuzi took 2 wickets in the 16th.

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“And Yuzi got India back into the game in what was his third over and West Indies 8th down and he didn’t bowl again and No 9 and 10 for WI found the pacers easy to handle. Should be smarter at these moments than just doing textbook stuff,” he added.

While Hardik Pandya expressed dissatisfaction with India's batting lineup, he neglected to mention how poorly the bowling lineup was managed and how that contributed to India's problems. Axar Patel, a left-arm spinner who was one of India's six bowling options, did not receive a single over, and Chahal did not complete his four overs as required.

The hosts will be hoping to secure an unbeatable lead in the series when they take on India in the third T20I on Tuesday, August 8. It was the first time since 2016 that West Indies managed to win back-to-back T20I matches.

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