Match Preview : India Vs West Indies 1st T20 ,India looks to continue their winning streak
The coolest format of cricket comes again as India Vs West Indies five match T20 series started today at 8:00 pm IST. India won the ODI series by 3-0 and are looking to continue their winning streak against the West Indies .
Objectives of This Series for India and West Indies
This is the year of the T20 world cup. Every team wants to make their best combination before the beginning of the T20 World Cup .The Indian team also changed their approach of playing T20 cricket .They had increased their scoring rate to 9.45 per over which was quite high after last T20 World Cup where India is unable to qualify for the semi finals and lost their first two games against Pakistan and New Zealand. In this series India will look to play with the same approach as they showed in the last few series .
On the other hand , West Indies definitely missed their lot of star players such as Kieron Pollard who retired from international cricket whereas Andre Russell and Sunil Narine are not part of their squad . WI is also looking for the best combination to win the upcoming T20 World Cup.
West Indian players also got confidence after winning a series against Bangladesh where they had won the series by 2-0 .
Rohit , Hardik and Rishabh Pant comes back into the Squad
India's three most important batsmen come in as the T20 series begins today in the West Indies , they took rest in the ODI series which is suggested as a dying format of cricket.India changed their approach of playing T20 cricket after T20 World Cup 2021 where Indian team is unable to qualify for the knockouts. Rohit Sharma as a captain looking to score more runs in the powerplay and capitalize the death overs to reach par score in the first innings.
Shimron hetmyer Comes Back Into the West Indian Side
Hetmyer has proved his fitness and made his comeback in the WI side . But the main doubt is related to his form in this series. He didn’t play a single match for the last two months as he was injured after the IPL . He performed really well in the last edition of the IPl where he played his role of a finisher for Rajasthan Royals and scored 314 runs in 15 innings at the strike rate of 153.92.
Playing XIs
Rishabh Pant seems to open for India in this first T20 against West Indies in the absence of KL Rahul who had an injury for the last few months . It will be a big challenge for selectors to choose for the upcoming T20 World Cup , as the star players like Virat Kohli , Kl Rahul and Rohit Sharma are out of form or injured but on the other hand young players are performing well in the Indian side
In the West Indies , Shimron Hetmyer comes in after passing a fitness test whereas , Evin Lewis is not fit before the first T20 , therefore Branden King and Kyle Mayers are the only options for opening.
West Indies probable XI : Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (capt & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Odean Smith/Dominic Drakes/Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh Jr
India probable XI : Rohit Sharma (capt), Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel ,Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan/Arshdeep Singh
Pitch And Conditions
This would be the first T20 match that will be played at Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba . The scoring rate at this stadium is 7.40 per over which is little bit less as compared to T20 standards but pitch is this match has a hard and flat surface which means this is good sign for both batsmen and bowlers.