T20 World Cup: Will India Field Rinku For Windies Game?

Though he hasn't made a big impact with the bat yet, Rinku Singh has good experience at Eden Gardens.
He has played 25 IPL matches here, scored 540 runs in 23 innings, and has a strike rate of 157.4.
Will the team management back him as a finisher in this must win game?

There is no respite for Team India. Despite the 76 run loss to South Africa, the defending champions remain in contention after a commanding win over Zimbabwe.

However, the road to the semifinals is still not clear. The Men in Blue will need to defeat the West Indies on Sunday at Eden Gardens to keep their campaign alive.

Two evenly matched teams, a full house, and no room for mistakes makes the encounter on Sunday a blockbuster.

Knockout Showdown

India kept their tournament alive with a convincing 72 run win over Zimbabwe in Chennai on Thursday. They batted first and put up a solid 256/4, with Sanju Samson blazing away at the top and Abhishek Sharma playing a composed 55 to steady the ship. Zimbabwe never really got close, finishing on 184.

It was exactly the kind of performance India needed after the bruising loss to South Africa but the West Indies are a completely different challenge. It would be crucial that both Abishek and Sanju give Team India a good start in the clash against the West Indies.

The Windies have only lost once too, also to South Africa, and that game is a perfect illustration of why they are so dangerous. They were 83 for 7 at one stage and somehow still managed to put up a fight, with Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder adding 89 runs in under ten overs. That kind of depth in batting and resilience is hard to plan for.

There's an added subplot to all of this: A 5.5-magnitude earthquake rattled Kolkata on Friday, with its epicentre in southwestern Bangladesh. The match is expected to go ahead, but it's a reminder of how much is outside anyone's control.

Crucially, there are no reserve days for Super 8 games -- so if the match is abandoned for any reason, West Indies go through on net run rate. Their NRR sits at a healthy +1.791; India's is -0.100.

Rinku factor

Hours after performing the last rites of his father in Aligarh, Rinku Singh joined the team in Kolkata on Friday evening.

Though he hasn't made a big impact with the bat yet, Rinku has good experience at Eden Gardens. He has played 25 IPL matches here, scored 540 runs in 23 innings, and has a strike rate of 157.4.

Will the team management back him as a finisher in this match?

Bowling Under Pressure

Meanwhile, India's bowling has been the bigger concern. Against South Africa, Varun Chakravarthy and Hardik Pandya struggled in the middle overs, and Shivam Dube leaked 46 runs in just two overs against Zimbabwe.

Against a batting lineup that hits from ball one, those kinds of spells could prove fatal. Sunil Gavaskar put it plainly on Star Sports, 'West Indies doesn't wait to respect deliveries -- they punish mistakes.'

India will need to be smarter, more varied and far more disciplined than they have been at times in this tournament.

The conditions should be good -- sunny forecast, no rain -- though dew under lights could make life tricky for bowlers later in the evening. Expect both captains to eye a chase if they win the toss.

India vs West Indies T20 World Cup Head-to-Head

Match-by-Match Results

But let's not forget the West Indies history at Eden Gardens. They not only knocked India out of the 2016 T20 World Cup at this very stage but lifted the trophy at this iconic ground that same year.

India won't have forgotten that. The head-to-head in recent T20s is tight and if anything, that unpredictability makes Sunday's game even harder to call.

Who do you think should be part of India's playing XI for the must-win match against West Indies on Sunday?

Please select your team from the list below and do post your playing XI in the message board below: