The Men in Blue under the leadership of star allrounder Hardik Pandya are going through a rough patch in the ongoing five-match T20I series against the West Indies and stand on the brink of losing the series, having already lost the first two games on the bounce.
For India winning the third T20I in order to stay alive in the series is not only important taking their eagerness to keep the winning momentum going but it also holds plenty of significance as they have put together an enviable streak to their credit in the shortest format of the game.
India have not conceded a bilateral series in T20Is since July 2021 - a streak that has witnessed team India play 12 series (both home and away) and remain unscathed. Their last loss in the format came against Asian neighbours Sri Lanka in the island nation when they fielded a fairly inexperienced bunch of players in a three-match T20I series and went down by a 2-1 margin.
Since then the team has done exceedingly well in bilateral events and either won or drew contests without suffering a series loss.
In addition to that, a loss in the third fixture can also halt Hardik Pandya's juggernaut as captain in T20Is. The 29-year-old has led the team in five T20I series thus far and has clinched all five of those. His unbeaten campaign started off with a two-match series against Ireland in Ireland. He then led the Men in Blue in a three-match-long bilateral contest in New Zealand and helped the team to emerge victorious by a margin 1-0.
As India hosted subsequently hosted the Lankan Lions and the Blackcaps on home soil in 2023, all eyes were on Hardik and he led the team with gusto and secured wins in both to add more feathers to his leadership hat.
He has already bounced back from precarious situations in the past and the same will be expected from him when the team will take the field against the West Indies on Tuesday, August 8 at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.
