Focus on balance as vital for India as wagging tail

Balance is a tricky phenomenon. The eleven best cricketers do not necessarily make the best team, and the strongest top six, combined with the strongest five bowlers, does not always create the ultimate winning formula.

- Cameron Ponsonby

This is the conundrum currently facing India, who against a West Indies XI boasting of Jason Holder, owner of three Test centuries, at No.8 and Alzarri Joseph, who has hit 98 sixes in his professional career, at No.10, were by comparison severely lacking lower-order firepower.

It was one aspect that cost India most notably in the opening T20I, where the sixth wicket fell with 37 runs required off 27 balls and Kuldeep Yadav, batting at No.8, managed only three off nine when it was required to push the run rate. India ultimately lost by four runs.

"It is what it is," Hardik Pandya said following that defeat. "In the current situation, we have to play with seven batters and trust them to score maximum runs. I have always believed that bowlers win you games. If your batters are having a good day, you don't need much batting beyond one point.

"We need to figure out how we strengthen our No.8, 9 and 10 as well if we need them to chip in with five-ten runs, though they did that today. We have to find ways to make sure we have the right balance, but at the same point batters need to take more responsibility."