Team India is all set to play against West Indies after an amazing away series win over England by 2-1. With in-form batting and bowling attack, the Men-in-Blues will be keen to bundle the three-match ODI cricket series starting from July 22 in their favour.
India’s batting in England was amazing with Rishabh Pant being the leading run-scorer after hitting 125 runs in 2 innings with an outstanding century in the deciding ODI. Apart from Pant, Hardik Pandya also got his all-round instincts right against England which got him the Man of the Series award. Pandya made 100 runs in 2 innings and scalped 6 wickets.
India’s bowling department led by Jasprit Bumrah looked extremely ruthless throughout the series. Bumrah justified himself as why he is called one of the best pace bowlers in all three formats of cricket in current times. He clinched 8 wickets in 2 matches with his career-best of 6/19 in the first ODI.
Spinner Yuzvendra Chahal also looked fine on England soil as he was right behind Bumrah at the third spot in the list of highest wicket-takers of the series. Chahal took 7 wickets in three matches.
West Indies, whereas, coming after a home ODI series loss against Bangladesh by 3-0. Both the batting and bowling of the West Indian side struggled in the ODI series against Bangladesh. Nicholas Pooran was the highest run scorer for the side with 91 runs in 3 matches, the rest all the batters were having a lean patch.
West Indies’ bowling also looked ordinary as they were only able to scalp 10 wickets in three matches. Gudakesh Moti was the most successful bowler from the West Indian side with 6 wickets to his name.
With the return of star all-rounder Jason Holder, West Indies will look to forget the past and start the series with a win. With no Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Hardik Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant, Shikhar Dhawan will be leading the side for the ODI’s.
Young players like Deepak Hooda, Arshdeep Singh, Ruturaj Gaikwad and Shubman Gill have been included in the ODI squad and Ravindra Jadeja has been given the responsibility to assist Dhawan as the vice-captain.
What have they done so far?
India recently defeated England 2-1 at the Three Lions’ own den
India has been on an exceptional run since the end of the 2019 cricket World Cup with the Men in Blue winning seven of their 10 bilateral ODI series during this period. Only against New Zealand, Australia and South Africa have the Men in Blue suffered series losses. Although all of these losses have come away from home yet India has been in dominant form even in away games in the format as the Men in Blue most recently defeated England 2-1 in the Three Lions’ own den.
Meanwhile, West Indies have been pretty ordinary in the format in the recent past. The Men in Maroon have only won four of their 13 bilateral ODI series since the competition of the 2019 World Cup. In this time period, they have only registered such wins against Afghanistan, Ireland, Sri Lanka and the Netherlands. In fact, the hosts have already lost thrice against India during this period including a 3-0 loss at the Caribbean in 2019.
Head to Head Record
India has a slight advantage over West Indies in men’s One Day Internationals. The two sides have played each other 136 times in the format and the Men in Blue have been victorious in 67 of those games. West Indies, meanwhile, have won 63 of the encounters played between the two sides. Two games played between the two sides have ended in a tie whilst four games have had no results.
However, things are totally different when it comes to games played between the two sides in the Caribbean Islands. Here, the hosts have an upper edge between the two teams in terms of matches won. West Indies have won 20 of the 39 games played between the two sides here. On the other hand, India has won 16 games. Meanwhile, three games have been abandoned and have had no results.
Key Players
Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): Nicholas Pooran has been an important player for West Indies. The left-hand batter has scored 1293 runs from 43 innings in the fifty-over format at an average of 35 and strike rate of 94.
Pooran has one hundred and nine fifties to his name. He played a crucial knock of 73 on a difficult pitch in the last game against Bangladesh and picked a wicket.
Yuzvendra Chahal has been in phenomenal form in white ball cricket recently
Yuzvendra Chahal (India): Yuzvendra Chahal is amongst the best white-ball spinners in the world with an ability to run through batting line-ups. He has a terrific record in ODI cricket, having picked 111 wickets from 64 matches at an average of 26.76.
Chahal has two five-wicket hauls and four four-fers to his credit in the format. The leg-spinner did well against England, snaring 4/47 and 3/60 in the last two games.
Predicted Playing XI
West Indies: Shai Hope (WK), Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran (C), Brandon King, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Gudakesh Motie
India: Shikhar Dhawan (C), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (WK), Deepak Hooda, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
Prediction
India has a solid batting line-up despite missing several players, with Dhawan, Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer, Deepak Hooda, Sanju Samson and Ravindra Jadeja. They have a potent bowling attack comprising Chahal, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh, and Axar Patel.
West Indies have a struggling batting line-up with a lot riding on Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran. Shamarh Brooks, Brandon King and Rovman Powell have also struggled for runs. The bowling options haven’t quite worked for them either. Jason Holder’s return will boost the side to some extent.
Thus, with the momentum in hand, the Indian team will come as favourites to win the first game and the series.
