West Indies vs India, 1st ODI, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

West Indies vs India, 1st ODI, Providence: Preview, predictions, likely XIs

Carlos Brathwaite Virat Kohli India West Indies

After sweeping the T20Is 3-0, India will now take on West Indies in a 3-ODI series, the first match of which will be played at Providence, Guyana. West Indies had not had a great World Cup – they won only their first and last matches – and will want to make amends to that.

West Indies won two of their nine matches in the World Cup. Every single batsman in their battalion of big hitters has got off to starts, but almost no one managed to convert the starts into anything substantial. However, once they get going, Chris Gayle, John Campbell, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, and Nicholas Pooran can smash any attack to pulp.

The bowling, on the other hand, remains a matter of concern. Sheldon Cottrell was in excellent form, but found little support throughout the tournament. Kemar Roach and Oshane Thomas can be dangerous if the pitch offers bounce, but as we saw in the third T20I, there is no danger of that on this Providence pitch.

Despite their semi-final exit, India, on the other hand, had a reasonably good World Cup. They lost just two matches, fewest among all teams in the tournament. Their top order did remarkably well, and barring the occasional blip, their bowlers were more or less efficient.

The middle order, on the other hand, will require some sorting out. KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Kedar Jadhav, Manish Pandey, and Shreyas Iyer all should feature in the series at some point, even if that means resting of one of the Big Three at the top.

Head to head

West Indies have a slender lead over India (62-60) in head-to-head clashes. At home, that goes up to 20-14. However, in this decade, India have a 22-8 lead, including 7-4 on West Indian soil. India have also won their last 3 ODIs against West Indies.

This will also be India’s first ODI at Providence against any side.

Key players

Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): There is a reason Gayle has marked out Pooran as his successor. A natural strokeplayer, Pooran got starts in all three T20Is against India before perishing cheaply. Before that, he had signed off the World Cup in style and had dazzled in a short Vitality Blast stint.

Ravindra Jadeja (India): Everyone remembers Jadeja’s rearguard act in his last ODI outing, in the World Cup semi-final. Apart from a strike rate of 85 down the order and an economy under 5, he is definitely a leading contender for the most dangerous fielder in the world.

Likely XIs

West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Kemar Roach, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.

Prediction:

India to go one up.