West Indies tour of India will be starting this Sunday, with the first ODI scheduled at Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad. The match will mark Rohit Sharma’s first outing as India’s full-time captain in white-ball cricket.
Let’s look at what’s in store for cricket fans from this fixture.
Indian players to look forward to
Rohit Sharma
This match will be a special occasion for Rohit Sharma because he is making his comeback after his injury, and this will mark his reign as Indian white-ball captain. This will be an excellent opportunity to lead by example as he has a fantastic record against West Indies.
With three centuries and 11 fifties, Sharma has scored at an average of 60.92 against the West Indians. Not to forget, he had an average of 78 as a captain whenever his predecessor Virat Kohli was on rest. With the responsibility on his shoulders to have the official mark as a captain, West Indian bowlers will have their hands full.
Virat Kohli
Virat Kohli is someone with an even better record than Rohit Sharma against West Indies. He has notched more than 2000 runs alone against the West Indies, which includes nine centuries (most by anyone against any ODI playing nation) at a monstrous batting average of 72.09.
While Kohli has not scored a century in a while, he has scored six fifties in his last eight ODIs and thus is in good touch. However, in the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, he’ll have an extra burden to carry, which may result in a ton he is searching for.
West Indies players to look forward to
Shai Hope
Shai Hope is the batter who has scored the most runs against India from the current Windies squad. Especially in India, he has a batting average of 100.14 in 11 matches, including three centuries and three fifties. He’ll be looking to better that record in his favorite scoring country.
Kieron Pollard
Probably the person with the most experience with the Indian conditions is the Windies captain Kieron Pollard. He has been influential with both bat and ball and will surely bring something to the table.
What can we expect?
In their last five games, West Indies have won two games and lost three. On the other hand, India have only won one game and lost four, including the recent whitewash they suffered at the hands of South Africa, where India were favored as the winners before that series.
Amidst the COVIDconcerns in the Indian camp, captaincy changes, and a hefty series loss against South Africa, the Indian team is slightly on the back foot going into this series. On the contrary, West Indies had a successful home T20 series, which has fired them more than ever. By playing the same way they played against England, Pollard’s men have the golden opportunity to start the series on a winning note.
Probable Playing XI
India
Rohit Sharma (c), Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna
West Indies
Kieron Pollard (c), Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo, Nicholas Pooran, Shamarh Brooks, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh, Kemar Roach, Romario Shepherd