Cricket legend and former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has publicly questioned the bowling strategy employed by India in the closing overs of the second T20I against West Indies in Ranchi, arguing that Arshdeep Singh or Mayank Yadav would have been better choices for the crucial 18th over rather than Axar Patel, as the visitors completed a record chase to level the five-match series.

Gavaskar's Case Against the 18th-Over Call

'Definitely! I would have gone with either Arshdeep or Mayank. Yes, Arshdeep went for plenty in his final over, but Mayank had struck the early blows. Of the wickets that had fallen, he had taken three. His economy rate was about 12 an over, and at that stage, the West Indies needed more than that. So, if he had taken a wicket, and sometimes when the game is going in your favour, who knows, you would have got a wicket even if it had not been off a great delivery,' Gavaskar said in an interview with JioStar.

The logic Gavaskar advanced was straightforward — Mayank Yadav had already taken three wickets in the match and, despite an economy rate of around 12 an over, the pressure of a fresh delivery from a wicket-taker could have altered the momentum. In T20 cricket, a single breakthrough in such situations can swing an entire innings, a dynamic that India failed to exploit.

Dube in the Ninth: Another Decision Under Fire

Gavaskar's critique extended beyond the death overs. He also raised doubts about the decision to hand the ball to Shivam Dube in the ninth over, arguing that spinner Kuldeep Yadav would have posed a greater threat while West Indian batters were still building their innings.

'For me, I think giving Shivam Dube the ball in that ninth over was not exactly what was required at that stage. When the batters were still trying to get their eye in, maybe Kuldeep coming in would have been a better idea,' he added. The observation points to a broader concern about India's mid-innings bowling rotation — a phase where control can make or break a chase.

How West Indies Pulled Off a Record Chase

The context for Gavaskar's remarks was a stunning West Indies victory. India posted 249/5 — a formidable total — but the visitors overhauled it with ease, reaching 252/4 in just 19.2 overs, winning by six wickets. The successful pursuit is the highest successful T20I chase against India on record, underlining the magnitude of the collapse in bowling execution.

West Indies captain Shai Hope was the architect of the win, stroking an unbeaten 102 off 45 balls, while Sherfane Rutherford hammered 84 off 37 deliveries. The two shared a partnership of 120 runs that decisively shifted the match, reducing India's early gains with the ball to nothing. Mayank Yadav had provided three early breakthroughs, but the hosts could not build on those dismissals to apply sustained pressure.

What This Means for the Series

With the five-match series level at 1-1, attention now shifts to the third T20I in Indore. India's bowling combinations — specifically the sequencing and deployment of their pace and spin options in the middle and death overs — will face renewed scrutiny from both team management and fans. This is the first time in the series that India's bowling blueprint has been exposed at such scale, making the next fixture a critical litmus test. How the team responds to Gavaskar's pointed questions, and whether the management makes tactical adjustments, could define the series from here.