Having snapped their four-match winless T20I streak to Windies with a laboured five-wicket win in Kolkata, India would be looking to make their Diwali brighter by sealing the series in Lucknow's T20I debut on Tuesday (November 6).

It was the sort of game at Eden Gardens where the experience of India's KKR boys - Kuldeep Yadav and skipper Dinesh Karthik - separated the two sides, while Windies were left to rue the gaping hole left in their line-up due to the eleventh hour withdrawal of their "local" man Andre Russell. Pacers from both sides enjoyed the rare assistance from a subcontinental track to pin the opposition on a mat. However, it was Kuldeep and debutant Krunal Pandya's combined figures of 8-0-28-4 in the middle overs that helped India sustain the pressure on Windies' batting.

Sailing in the same boat later in the evening, Karthik produced yet another of his pressure-absorbing knocks - a resilient 31 not out - while Pandya followed up his miserly bowling figures with a classic finishing act of an unbeaten 21 off 9 to ultimately together steer their team home comfortably.

In their bid to keep the series alive till Chennai, the onus would be on Windies' batsmen to avoid another capitulation that spelled their doom despite transitioning to the format they have a firm grip on. Promoted to No. 4, Kieron Pollard brought his matured side to the wicket, demonstrating his evolution as a T20 batsman who can dig in and find scoring opportunities in the face of early trouble. But the lack of application from others, who were either too aggressive or overtly defensive, meant Windies' top and middle order caved in. They were rescued by debuting all-rounder Fabian Allen (27* off 20) and Keemo Paul (15* off 13), who looted 23 off Umesh Yadav's and 17 off Jasprit Bumrah's two overs each in the death to give Windies' total some sense of respectability.

On the bright side, the biggest takeaway for Windies was another debutant, Oshane Thomas, who made a match out of what was rapidly turning into yet another no-contest on this tour. He consumed up the experienced opening pair of Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan with 146 kmph thunderbolts in a fierce opening spell. Carlos Brathwaite did cast another magic spell to stun the Kolkata crowd, this time with the ball, but his team missed his flamboyance with the bat more.

As much as the hosts would be hoping to prolong Windies' misery, they'd know better than to dismiss the potential threat from this young side that stretched the game to the 18th over in a seemingly simple chase of 110. That said, two chances is all Windies are left with to prove - that they didn't embark on this tour to return with more questions than answers in their quest to build towards their title defence in 2020.

Over to Lucknow, for it's much-anticipated international return.

When: November 6 at 7 pm IST

Where: Ekana International Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

What to expect: Ekana hasn't hosted a domestic limited-overs game yet, and might just throw a virgin pitch that could potentially neutralise India's home advantage. Dew is going to be a factor again with early winter starting to set in, in northern India.

Team News

India: Umesh Yadav's opening bursts turning into forgettable death-overs spells to round off his four-over quota is a bigger concern than a rare off day in the office for their vaunted top-order. He is the likeliest candidate to make way for Bhuvneshwar Kumar's expected comeback, after missing the series opener with a gastric complaint. Alternatively, they might add an extra spin option too.

Squad: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Rishabh Pant, Krunal Pandya, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal, Washington Sundar, Shreyas Iyer, Umesh Yadav, Shahbaz Nadeem.

Windies: The visitors perhaps erred in opening with Shai Hope and Denesh Ramdin, and never recovered. A shuffle in the batting slots will definitely be on the cards, especially with Allen presenting a case for him to be pushed up in the order. They might also be tempted to hand a maiden cap to Sherfane Rutherford.

Squad: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Shai Hope, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Darren Bravo, Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas, Khary Pierre, Nicholas Pooran, Obed McCoy, Sherfane Rutherford

What they said?

"Oshane Thomas is a really exciting talent without doubt, good height plus that jump he takes, if he bowls in the right areas, it won't be easy for any batsman in the world to counter that. He's really talented, also has the advantage of height which gives him the extra edge. I wish him the best in the future, but not against us." - Rohit Sharma on the Caribbean pacer's sterling T20I debut.

"As young bunch of guys, we want to be fearless. We understand it is a privilege represent the West Indies. A lot of guys grew up watching the legends, and now we have our chance [to do something for West Indies]. Obviously, our cricket is not where we want it to be and we've been tasked to get it back to where it should be. So, what you saw form these guys was the fight, the determination the expression form the young bunch of guys who want to do well, are working hard and are just happy to be here playing on the biggest stage." - Carlos Brathwaite on the new-look Windies' side he's in-charge of.