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As India takes on West Indies in a virtual knockout match for the last semifinal spot in the T20 World Cup, both teams will have to get their homework done against spin bowling so that the packed crowd at Kolkata's Eden Gardens can get treated to a six-hitting fest.
While the Men in Blue have struggled against finger spinners, particularly off-spin, the West Indies are facing a gigantic threat in the form of Varun Chakravarthy, the wrist spinner who is playing at what is his Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)'s home ground. Men in Maroon also have their struggles against wrist spin. In this tournament, India has lost 19 wickets to finger spin, only England (22 wickets) has lost more. The trio of Gudakesh Motie (10 wickets in six matches at an average of 15.50), Akael Hosein (six wickets in five matches at an average of 23.50) and Roston Chase (four wickets in four matches at an average of 21.25) could be a massive threat for the Indian line-up, particularly left-handers Abhishek Sharma and Tilak Varma. These 20 wickets by WI finger spinners make them the third-most productive finger spin group in the tournament, with Sri Lanka and Pakistan above them. However, on the other hand, WI has lost 67 wickets to wrist spin in T20Is since the last T20 World Cup, the most by a Test-playing nation in this period. In 22 IPL matches at Eden Gardens, Chakravarthy has taken 30 wickets at an average of 24.27, with best figures of 4/15 and an economy rate of 8.60. Varun has been India's top wicket-taker in the tournament so far, with 11 wickets in six matches at an average of 13.09 and an economy rate of 7.20 and overall the third-highest wicket-taker. But he has not been at his best in the Super Eight phase, as he went for 47 runs, taking one wicket in four overs against South Africa and had another underwhelming outing of 1/35 in four overs against Zimbabwe, at an economy rate of above 8.75. If there is any venue where Varun could make a statement, it is Eden Gardens. Squads: India Squad: Sanju Samson(w), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Suryakumar Yadav(c), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya, Shivam Dube, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakaravarthy, Jasprit Bumrah, Rinku Singh, Washington Sundar, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav West Indies Squad: Brandon King, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph, Johnson Charles, Akeal Hosein, Jayden Seales, Quentin Sampson. (ANI)
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