IND tour of WI 2023
WI vs IND, 1st T20

Preview

After losing the Test 1-0 and ODI series by 2-1, The Hosts are now all geared up to play a five-match T20I series against India starting on Thursday, 03 August at 08:00 PM from Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. This will be good practice for WI and IND keeping World T20 Series 2024 in mind which will be hosted by West Indies and The USA next year.

The Hosts have called back Shimron Hetmyer, Oshane Thomas and Shai Hope in the team for the T20I series. The left-handed batter Hetmyer represented the Seattle franchise in the inaugural Major T20 League tournament in the USA, where he played two matches after an IND T20 League stint with the Rajasthan franchise where he amassed a total of 299 runs at an impressive strike rate of 151.77 while maintaining an average of 37.37. On the other hand, ODI's skipper Shai Hope’s average is on the lower side at 17.88, which is a contrast to his impressive numbers in the 50-over format.

The Visitors T20I squad for the upcoming series against WI in August features several new faces, signalling a fresh approach by the team management. The young talents after performing well in the recent IND T20 League, the left-handed batters Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma have been rewarded for their impressive performances and have earned their maiden call-ups to the Indian T20I team. The experienced seniors, including Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, will continue to be absent from the T20I squad as they will be given more rest of the Asia Series and World Series later in the year.

The young impressive bowler Mukesh Kumar, who was earlier named in the Test and ODI squads, has also been included in the T20I team, reflecting his versatility and potential across formats. Additionally, the wicket-keeper batter Sanju Samson makes his return to the squad, adding valuable depth to the batting lineup.

Match Details

Match: IND tour of WI 2023, WI vs IND 1st T20

Date: Thursday, August 03, 2023 

Time: 08:00 PM IST

Venue: Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad

Pitch and Weather Report

The 1st T20I between WI and IND will be played at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. Queen’s Park Oval has a capacity of 25,000 spectators and has hosted 62 Tests, 76 ODIs & 9 T20Is before this match. It is a home venue for the Caribbean T20 League team Trinbago. No team has gone past 160 runs on this track. WI's coach Darren Sammy is the only 5-wicket haulier in T20Is at this venue.

The sky for August 03 on this venue doesn't look encouraging, as we might see another spell of rain in the first T20 match of the series. The track assists the bowlers, and batters have found it hard to hit the ball. Both sides must be watchful and get their eyes in before playing their strokes. The team winning the toss would like to bat first and would be happy with a score above 190 runs on this wicket.

WI vs IND Squads

WI: Rovman Powell (c), Kyle Mayers (vc), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Obed McCoy, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Oshane Thomas

IND: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (c), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravi Bishnoi, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Avesh Khan, Mukesh Kumar

WI vs IND Probable Playing XIs

WI: Rovman Powell (capt), Kyle Mayers (vice-capt), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Romario Shepherd.

IND: Ishan Kishan (wk), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Surya Kumar Yadav (VC), Sanju Samson (wk), Hardik Pandya (C), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.

Match Prediction

The Hosts players are playing the shorter format all across the world, so they are in touch with the pace of T20. On the other hand, the Visitors' players will play their first T20I after IND T20 League. Though the Hardik Pandya-led team has some big names in it, IND's bowling will be tested against the dangerous Windies side.

IND has 6 wins and a tie in the last 10 T20Is they played. Besides that, IND won 10 out of 11 games against WI since 2017. The Hosts are running through a poor form in this format with just 4 wins in the last 10 matches. The left-handed batter Nicholas Pooran’s form will be the key for them to stop India from winning yet another series. But we say IND to win this match.

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