IND vs WI 1st ODI PREVIEW

The first assignment of India's new ODI captain is here. After missing out on the South Africa series, skipper Rohit Sharma will begin his stint in Ahmedabad on Sunday for a 3 match ODI series. 
West Indies on the other hand are coming from a 2-1 drubbing against the Ireland and are in danger of playing the qualifiers for 2023 World Cup. Currently, they are 7th on the table with 50 points (5 wins and 7 losses)

There are few new faces on both sides. India have picked the exciting leggie Ravi Bishnoi and have also called former Baroda player Deepak Hooda. Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan have also been added to the ODI squad as few players tested positive for COVID-19. Kuldeep Yadav returns after a long time and Washington Sundar also makes his way after a long halt because of injuries.

West Indies have not won an ODI series against India since the famous 2006 series where India lost 4-1. The image of Yuvraj Singh getting bowled by DJ Bravo on the last ball are still fresh in minds of Indian fans. WI really surprised with their performance in 2019 when they managed to beat India in Pune and tied at Vizag.

Pitch Report

Ahmedabad pitch is expected to assist spinners a little more than the seamers here and both teams might field an extra spin option here. Even though the teams defending here have a slightly better win-rate, the dew factor might force the Toss winner to chase on this ground.

Probable XI

India: Rohit Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Yuzi Chahal, Mohammed Siraj

West Indies: Shai Hope, Brandon King, Nkrumah Bonner, Sharmrah Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard, Fabien Allen, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeil Hosein, Alzaari Joseph

Head to Head

Overall: India lead 64-63
In India: India lead 29-28
Last 10 games: India lead 7-2

Match Ups

India
Kohli vs Roach: 274 runs for 2 dismissals
Kohli vs Holder: 223 runs for 4 dismissals
Rohit vs Roach: 187 runs for 3 dismissals
Rohit vs Pollard: 96 runs for no dismissals
Rahul vs Alzarri: 39 runs for 2 dismissals
Dhawan vs Holder: 157 runs for 1 dismissal

West Indies
Hope vs Kuldeep: 147 runs for 2 dismissals
Holder vs Chahal: 17 runs for 2 dismissals
Pooran vs Kuldeep: 62 runs for 1 dismissal
Hope vs Chahal: 51 runs for no dismissal

Key Players

West Indies
Shai Hope: Hailed as Asia's Bradman, the opener averages a mammoth 112 in Asia with 6 centuries and 5 fifties.
Although, his scoring rate is on the slower side but he his the glue of this carribean batting line up. 

Akeal Hosein: An exciting slow left arm orthodox bowler. He was one of the stars in their recent 3-2 win over Eng in T20Is. He can also use the long handle down the order. It will be interesting to see if they field both Allen and Hosein in the XI.

Nicholas Pooran: It was Shimron Hetmyer who toyed with Indian bowlers in the middle overs in 2 consecutive odi series in 2018-19 with a couple of 100s and a 90-odd score. With him being out of the team, huge responsibility will lie on the shoulders of Pooran who can play similar role with their captain Pollard in the middle order.
 

India
Ishan Kishan: He can be the solution to India's conservative approach at the top. With no Dhawan and KL, he is expected to open as confirmed by Rohit.

Virat Kohli: His numbers against the men in maroon are ridiculous. 2235 runs in just 38 innings at 72 avg with 20 scores of 50 or more. 6 centuries have come in the last 12 ODI innings.

Mohammed Siraj : Problems persist with India in Powerplay overs. With no Bumrah and Bhuvi, he is likely to take the new ball with the onus on him to give early breakthroughs.
 

Form Update
(runs in last 5 innings)

256: Rishabh Pant
251: Rohit Sharma
211: Shikhar Dhawan
191: KL Rahul
189: Virat Kohli
163: Suryakumar
151: Shai Hope
145: Shardul Thakur
141: Deepak Chahar
137: Sharmarh Brooks
117: Jason Holder
  97: Brandon King
  86: Kieron Pollard
  78: Nicholas Pooran

 

Fanstasy XI