🏏 India West Indies : 1st T20 🏏

The preparation for T20 World Cup 2022 will truly start for India when the Rohit Sharma-led side takes the field against the West Indies here at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

India and West Indies will lock horns in three T20Is beginning today and the focus will be on the brand of cricket India play, having witnessed disappointment in T20 World Cup 2021.

India was the pre-tournament favorite but made a shocking group stage exit in the last T20 World Cup held in the UAE in October-November.

The shambolic campaign exposed loopholes in the team combination and temperament, spoiling Virat Kohli's swan song as T20 skipper.

After that, the Men-in-Blue won the T20I series against New Zealand, but nothing changed in terms of approach so it would be interesting to see whether the hosts try out something different.

Virat Kohli recorded scores of 8, 18, and 0 in the ODI series and it would be interesting to see how the batter performs in the shortest format.

It is safe to say that Ishan Kishan who recently was acquired by Mumbai Indians for Rs 15.25 crore would open the batting alongside Rohit in the T20I series in the absence of KL Rahul.

Overall, India will look to make amends and rebuild the side with a packed T20 calendar lined up ahead of the marquee event in Australia beginning October 16.

Both teams have a strong batting lineup, but India's top-order has no rival

West Indies has more power on its side, but its bowling is quite poor

India is very tough to beat in home conditions and has yet to play its best cricket .

Playing XI

India: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav/Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell/Dominic Drakes.

Has the match started

In their most recent T20I outing, West Indies registered a 3-2 series win against England. On the other hand, India are also on a six-match winning streak in the T20 format. After winning against Afghanistan, Scotland and Namibia in the T20 World Cup, India also blanked New Zealand 3-0 at home.

There will be some changes in India's ODI set-up, where the likes of Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, Harshal Patel and Venkatesh Iyer could slot in. Bhuvneshwar Kumar could also return to add some experience to the bowling unit. Washington Sundar though has been ruled out after suffering a hamstring muscle strain.

For the visitors, the first concern will be the fitness of their skipper Kieron Pollard. The experienced all-rounder missed the final two ODIs with a niggle and West Indies will hope that he can make a comeback to add some firepower in their batting unit.

West Indies have some dangerous players in their ranks to challenge the hosts. They also have a plethora of all-rounders -- Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder, who will provide options in bowling and the batting will have depth as well.

Rohit Sharma began the ODI series with a knock of 60 and he is our tip for India’s highest run-scorer in this opening match. With the ball, Yuzvendra Chahal took 5 wickets from 2 games in the ODIs and he is a strong choice for India’s top wicket-taker against West Indies.

Opener Brandon King was one of the star performers for West Indies in their series victory over England last month. He is our pick for West Indies’ highest run-scorer in this game. All-rounder Jason Holder was impressed with bat and ball in both series against England and India. He is well worth backing as West Indies’ top wicket-taker against India.

We expect to see Rohit Sharma put in a captain’s performance with the bat in this game.

Many are predicting him for the Player of the Match Award.

Originally posted by: evilxbalaa

Has the match started

Toss Prediction

Batting second is the most popular method in IT20 cricket. With the humidity level increasing as the game progresses we expect to see both skippers inserting the opposition.

IND vs WI Pitch Report

Spinners had the most joy on this surface in the last IT20 match at Eden Gardens. We expect a par score to be above 175 in this game.

Weather Report

Sunny conditions give way to clear skies during the evening with temperatures above 20 degrees throughout.

IND Key Players

Rohit Sharma - The skipper has hit 3 half-centuries in his last 4 IT20s with him scoring 48 runs in the only time he didn’t make 50.

Virat Kohli - The former captain has a highest IT20 score of 94 not-out and hit 80 not-out in his last home match in this format against England.

Yuzvendra Chahal - The leg-spinner is considered to be an attacking bowler in this format and has picked up 168 international wickets.

IND Team Form

India has won six IT20 matches on the bounce.

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WI Team News

After missing the final two ODIs, we expect to see captain Kieron Pollard returning to the XI in this opening IT20. This will see Nicholas Pooran returning to the ranks after standing in as skipper. West Indies have plenty of big hitting lower-order players who can be promoted up the order at any point.

WI Key Players

Brandon King - The 27-year-old top-order batter has played 26 internationals. Domestically, he has a top score in this format of 132 not-out.

Akeal Hosein - The spinner picked up wickets in every game of the IT20 series against England and is proving to be a useful batter down the order.

Jason Holder - The former captain was West Indies’ highest run-scorer during the ODI series, although he is primarily a bowling all-rounder.

WI Team Form

West Indies have won three of their last five IT20s

India won the toss and chose to bowl⭐️

Ravi Bishnoi is debuting for India today⭐️