WI vs IND, 1st T20I: Nicholas Pooran elects to field
Having won the ODIs by a 3-0 margin, India will be keen for a comprehensive win in the five-match T20Is against West Indies. Regular skipper Rohit Sharma has returned to lead the side and will hope to stop a Windies resurgence. WI beat Bangladesh 2-0 earlier this month. The news from the stadium is that Nicholas Pooran has won the toss and will field.
Pitch report, timing, and TV listing
The Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad, will host this affair. A bright and sunny day awaits both teams. Scores around 160-170 could be very well anticipated on this occasion. The wicket will have something to offer for the spinners. The match will be telecast live on DD Sports (8:00 PM IST) and live-streamed on the Fancode app (paid subscription).
Here is the head-to-head record
West Indies and India have faced each other 20 times in T20Is, with the latter winning 13 of them. While the Caribbeans have won six, one fixture got abandoned. As far as the bilateral series are concerned, India have a 12-3 lead against the Windies. Earlier this year, India routed West Indies 3-0 in the three-match series at home.
A look at the top performers
Rovman Powell has racked up 685 T20I runs at 26.34. He has a hundred and four fifties. Against India, Nicholas Pooran has hoarded 335 runs at 41.87. He has four fifties across 10 innings. Suryakumar Yadav has smashed 293 runs in eight T20Is played this year. He averages 41.85. Bhuvneshwar Kumar has snapped up 17 wickets this year. He averages merely 16.29.
India to play with three spinners
India have gone in with three premium spinners in Ravi Bishnoi, Ravindra Jadeja, and R Ashwin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, and Hardik Pandya are the pace-bowling options. India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh.
Hetmyer back for WI
For WI, Shimron Hetmyer has returned to the side. Notably, Hetmyer who had been omitted in previous games on fitness grounds, has now cleared his fitness tests. Pacer Alzarri Jospeh gets a game as well.
