Team India had an impressive start to the Caribbean tour as they defeated West Indies 1-0 in a two-match Test series. Now, we turn our attention to the limited-overs as India continues its preparation for the upcoming 2023 ODI World Cup while West Indies will try to regain some reputation as a limited-overs giant in the three-match series beginning on Thursday.
Skipper Rohit Sharma must be happy with the way his side played so far in the series. With some fantastic batting from Yashasvi Jaiswal and Virat Kohli at his very best, the skipper would be pleased with the way they performed against the hosts.
What have they done so far?
A remarkable victory for India in the Test series as they dismantled the hosts with their phenomenal effort in both matches. Debutant Yashasvi proved to be a match-winner for the team with his sensational century whereas captain Rohit too scored his 10th Test ton in the first Test.
Veteran spinner Ravichandran Ashwin was the showstopper for the side as he picked up 12 wickets in the first game. His performance should have given him the Player of the Match award but it was Jaiswal who got the trophy for his excellent innings.
Talking about the hosts, they didn’t have any answer to Ashwin’s historic spell. A fifer in the first innings followed by seven wickets in the next innings outclassed the opposition in a terrible manner.
None of the Windies’ players managed to score even a half-century in the first match, however, the batting improved a bit in the next game with Kraigg Brathwaite scoring 75 runs in the first innings whereas a couple of players including Tagnarine Chanderpaul and Alick Athanaze scoring 33 runs and 37 runs respectively.
Kemar Roach and Jomel Warrican bowled well too in the second Test as they picked up 6 wickets together, however, that didn’t affect the Indian line-up much as they scored 438 in their first innings.
Virat Kohli would look to continue his good form in the ODI series as well
Jaiswal and Rohit must have given another good start to India but this time it was Kohli who stole the show with his 76th international century. The Indian batting legend scored 121 runs with all his shots technically correct. The right-hander hardly made a mistake in his innings and helped his side post an enormous total.
Head to Head Record
Both teams have met each other 138 times in ODIs with India winning 70 matches to date whereas West Indies got victorious on 63 occasions. There were no results in 4 matches while 2 games ended in a tie.
Looking at the record, it looks like they both are competitive, however, the current Windies’ squad is completely different from what we saw 20 years ago. Still, the hosts would give their everything to reduce the margin now.
Key Players
Virat Kohli: A scintillating knock of 76 runs in the first match followed by a sensational century in the second game is making Kohli dangerous at this point. He would be crucial for India in posting a big total on the board however even if India chases in this match, Kohli has been magnificent in that as well.
Known as the chase master, the Delhiite would look to play a long innings in the first encounter to give India an advantage. He has a great ODI record against West Indies which will make things difficult for the Caribbean bowlers.
Shimron Hetmyer is making a comeback to the ODIs against India in this series
Shimron Hetmyer: Shimron Hetmyer will play in ODIs after a gap of almost two years but regular outings in major leagues make him a complete fit for the ODIs.
The Southpaw made his ODI debut in the year in 2017 and impressed a lot since then. Though he hasn’t scored a century yet in the format, his ability to finish the game makes him a dangerous player. He would like to play at his best in the first game to give Windies the start they require.
Prediction
Though the match is being played in the Caribbean islands, still the hosts are not favorites this time due to their bad patch going on. Recently, they got eliminated from the CWC Qualifiers against some ordinary sides of cricket and then a loss against India in the Test series has surely put them under immense pressure.
Rohit Sharma & Co. are favorites to win the first match because of some experienced players who have played here before. With Rahul Dravid also there as a coach, it looks like India is all set to win the match unless a big turnaround happens.