India to take on West Indies in first T20I Cricket of five-match series in Trinidad & Tobago
In Cricket, the first T20 International between India and West Indies will be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad and Tobago today. The match will begin at 8 PM Indian time.
The second match will be held at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Sunday. The third match of the series will be played at the same venue on the 8th of this match.
The last two matches will be played in the United States. The fourth match will be held on August 12 at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground, Lauderhill, Florida, United States and the 5th match of the series will be played on the 13th of this August at the same venue.
After winning the Test series 1-0, India registered 2-1 victory in the One-Day International series.
In a 50-over World Cup year, playing a five-match T20I series wouldn’t usually serve much purpose but for both India and the West Indies, it gives them an early opportunity to attune themselves to the conditions and set the ball rolling in terms of preparations for the next year’s T20 World Cup which will be held in the Caribbean and the United States.
Although it is the 20-over format, it still gives the Indian players another opportunity to audition for roles for this year’s main event, with the selectors likely to follow the performances of some who have been making the right noises in the IPL and domestic circuits. Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma, who have scored prolifically in the IPL, will be keen to take their game to the next level, while the likes of Arshdeep Singh, Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi, who have played for India before but have gone off the radar a bit, will be hoping to make the most of the platform.
Suryakumar Yadav is a key member in the T20I team and he’ll be hoping to get himself going in a format which has worked out well for him after an average showing in the ODI series. Umran Malik will be keen to find his rhythm and put the West Indian batters in a spot, having not been at his best in the 50-over games. Meanwhile, Mukesh Kumar, after showcasing his skills in the Test and ODI formats in his maiden series for India, will look to make a mark in the T20I format too if he is handed a debut. India have a plethora of spin options and it remains to be seen who among them get the nod.
The West Indies side have plenty of quality players in their line-up, but this will again be a fresh start for them after their poor showing in the T20 World Cup in Australia last year. They did win 2-1 against South Africa earlier this year and will be hoping to reflect on those performances as they look to challenge India, who are starting a new journey of their own as the old guard makes way for new, if the recent selections are anything to go by.
Squads:
West Indies Squad: Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran(w), Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell(c), Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Brandon King, Odean Smith, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd
India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Ishan Kishan(w), Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, Hardik Pandya(c), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ravi Bishnoi, Tilak Varma
