Windies Vs India, 1st ODI, Preview – Will the change of format turn around the fortunes of the home team?

India will play its first ODI at the Providence Stadium in Guyana.

Published - 08 Aug 2019, 05:20 IST | Updated - 08 Aug 2019, 05:20 IST

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Virat Kohli’s men continued their dominance in white-ball cricket by pasting the Caribbean team in the final game of the T20I leg. In the end, one of the most anticipated series turned out to be a no-contest and finished with a margin of 3-0 to India. The Men in Blue team ticked all the boxes and now they have the momentum in the lead up to the ODI and Test series. At the same time, the West Indies dressing room has a lot to ponder to reverse the trend. Again Guyana will be the battleground for the first ODI.

With all their departments operating in sync, this Indian unit has been ruthless in its approach. Except for Shreyas Iyer, all the members of the T20 squad got their chances and everybody chipped in with useful contributions. What was more heartening to see was the team’s bowling prowess without the services of regular stars. Now for the ODI sojourn, some of the players will return to the fold after a break.

The hosts completely lost the plot from the start of the series and now it will be an uphill task for them to lift their spirits in the ODIs. Their batting unit crumbled under pressure in the T20s but a couple of their mainstream stars is set to join the side. The fast bowlers have done well in patches but they need more support from the rest of the cast. The only positive was the return of veterans, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine but unfortunately, they are not part of the ODI squad.

Playing Combinations

India

Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma will be opening the innings and the former will be happy to return to his favorite format. Skipper, Virat Kohli will be looking to convert his starts into match-winning knocks. In the middle-order, the team is likely to persist with Manish Pandey because of his recent knocks against Windies A. Rishabh Pant will be feeling confident after stroking a half-century in his last game and will be also keeping the wickets.

Ravindra Jadeja and Kedhar Jadhav will be sharing the all-rounder’s tag and it is an important series for the latter who was below-par in the 2019 World Cup. Bhuvneshwar Kumar will be leading the pace attack along with Mohammad Shami who was in red hot form in England. Navdeep Saini might get his ODI cap because of his impressive outings in the T20s. Kuldeep Yadav or Yuzvendra Chahal will accompany Jadeja in the spin department.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer/ Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal/ Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini/ Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammad Shami.

West Indies

Chris Gayle‘s return will certainly boost the morale of the struggling batting unit. Evin Lewis might get another opportunity as he can score runs quickly in the powerplay overs. Shai Hope will be assisting the top order as he has good technique against the new ball and he will also be donning the wicket-keeping gloves. Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran will be sharing the middle-order duties.

Roston Chase might get a game as he provides the required batting depth. Jason Holder and Carlos Braithwaite will be the all-round options with the former also returning to take charge of the side. Oshane Thomas and Sheldon Cottrell will be the frontline pacers and their new-ball spells will be a crucial factor in the game. Fabian Allen is likely to be the premier spinner if the surface assists slow bowlers.

Probable XI: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis/ John Campbell, Shai Hope Nicholas Pooran (WK), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder (C), Carlos Brathwaite, Roston Chase, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen.

Focus will be on

Mohammad Shami (India)

Since the start of the year, the Bengal pacer has got his act together in white-ball cricket. He was part of the World Cup squad where he scaled 14 wickets in 4 games. Still, he was not a regular in the playing XI because of his poor death bowling skills. Now in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammad Shami will be playing the complete series and it will help him develop his game for the end overs.

Shai Hope (Windies)

The youngster has already shown his potential across formats. Before the World Cup, he had a groundbreaking tri-series where he piled on 470 runs in 5 games. He has all the shots in the repertoire and is termed as the future star of Windies cricket. Shai Hope will be keen to set his record straight in ODIs after his poor returns in England.