 West Indies will host India in the one-off T20I at the Port of Spain on
June 4. This will be the first game of the tour and will see the two sides try
to outwit each other in the shortest format of the game. In the previous series
that West Indies had played against the Pakistani side, they had won the
one-off T20I and would look to do the same to the world champions India.
The Indian team is an interesting one thanks to all those who have decided
to skip the series. They have a 16-member side which will play the ODIs as well
and in the absence of Gautam Gambhir, who was supposed to be their captain,
they will be led by Suresh Raina. Gambhir's absence will also mean that Shikhar
Dhawan and Parthiv Patel will open the innings for the side, while the injury
to Yuvraj Singh will ensure that they will be left with a different,
if not a weaker middle order.
Click for Live Score Card of West Indies v India
Raina will come in at the number three position, followed by his Chennai Super
Kings team-mate, S Badrinath and Virat Kohli. Yusuf Pathan will also have a chance
to overcome his form issues as he comes to bat at six, with a good chance for
Rohit Sharma to complete the line-up.
The bowling for the Indian side will depend on three pace bowlers and one spinner
or two pace and two spin bowlers, depending on the kind of pitch that one will
find at the Port of Spain.
The bowlers most likely to make it to the eleven are the vice-captain Harbhajan
Singh and with the pace of Munaf Patel and Praveen Kumar making it to the side.
The final slot will be a toss-up between R Ashwin and Ishant Sharma, depending
on the kind of pitch that will be used.
West Indies continue to go into the series without Chris Gayle, despite his
superb IPL. They have announced a 12-member side, which will be led by Darren Sammy and will have the likes of Christopher Barnwell and Ashley Nurse,
trying to get a chance to display their wares in order to ensure that the youngsters
are blooded.
Lendl Simmons will hold the key while Marlon Samuels will look to ensure that
he will be able to get the runs in a bid to find form again. India should be given
a good fight by West Indies.
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