India vs WI 2019: First ODI Preview and Expected Playing 11
India vs WI 2019: Shivam Dube most-likely to make a debut as we look at the preview and the expected playing 11 for the first ODI.
MATCH DETAILS:
| Occasion | First ODI, India vs West Indies |
| Location | Chennai |
| Date & Time | Sunday, December 15, 2 pm |
INDIA VS WI FIRST ODI PREVIEW
The recently completed 3-match T20I series saw Team India snatching yet another series victory as they defeated the visitors by 2-1 in a high-scoring affair. However, the West Indies didn’t disappoint with their performance. They were equally good in both the departments, and it was a matter of minor differences between the sides.
Performance-wise, It was a nightmare for the bowlers as hardly any bowler looked effective in the batting-friendly conditions. Batsmen, on the other hand, had a bumper of a series. Team India’s top-order looked menacing with Virat Kohli and KL Rahul being the stand-outs.
Meanwhile, the ODI series is supposedly the second ODI series and the only team, India would be playing against since the 2019 ODI World Cup. The last ODI series saw Team India winning the 3-match series 2-0 with one match being affected due to rain.
To be honest, the context of an ODI series seems perplexing as an extended T20I series would have been more beneficial with the 2020 T20 World Cup in mind. Nevertheless, will we see another West Indies series where Virat Kohli’s bat is doing all the talking? Let’s wait and watch.
WHAT TO EXPECT:
The Chennai pitch is usually a good wicket with a balance between bat and ball. If teams bat well, the pitch could see them making scores around 275, which would be difficult to chase. In the bowling department, spin bowlers would benefit the most.
Moreover, there are also good chances of Rain playing a spoil-sport considering December sees Chennai getting a lot of rains. We, however, hope we a full game without any over getting affected.
EXPECTED PLAYING 11- TEAM INDIA:
Openers: Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul
The absence of Shikhar Dhawan gives yet another wonderful opportunity to KL Rahul, who to be honest, is too-good a limited-overs player to miss-out. He has done exceptionally well in the limited opportunities he has got, and the recent T20Is was the best example.
Partnering KL Rahul would be Rohit Sharma, who has blown hot and cold since the 2019 ODI World Cup. He did play a few wonderful knocks, but not as the Rohit Sharma we have seen in the last few years.
Middle-order: Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant (WK)
The middle-order would see no changes from the previous ODI tour with Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, and Rishabh Pant handling the middle-order, of course with Rishabh and Shreyas’s batting-order the talking point.
It would be interesting to see if Virat Kohli plays Rishabh Pant at number 4 or number 5. While he played at number 4 in the T20Is, Pant is most-likely to play at number 5 in ODIs.
Meanwhile, the wicket-keeper batsman is currently struggling for form. While time is not running out of Pant with the backing of the team management, he would want to spend as much time as possible in the middle (without throwing it away) to get the confidence back.
All-rounders: Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, and Ravindra Jadeja
As with the last series, Kedar Jadhav and Ravindra Jadeja would once again lead the all-rounder duties for Team India considering the spin-friendly Chennai pitch.
Shivam Dube, who impressed with his performance in the T20Is is most-likely to make a debut, and play as the fast-bowling all-rounder in the absence of Hardik Pandya.
Meanwhile, this would be an important series for Kedar Jadav, who is actually the oldest member of the squad. Any bad patch of form could see him knocking the exit doors.
Bowlers: Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
The injured Pacer, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was likely to lead the pace attack along with Mohammed Shami. However, the absence of Bhuvi means Deepak Chahar is likely to be the second pacer in the squad.
There will be a toss-up between Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav for the second-spin option alongside Ravindra Jadeja. Of the two, Yuzvendra Chahal is most-likely to get selected. However, there may be a chance of India resting Kedar Jadhav to accommodate an an extra spinner.
For West Indies, Evin Lewis is suffering from a soft-tissue injury which he suffered during the third T20I. Hence, in place of him, Brandon King is most-likely to open the innings.
India vs WI First ODI Expected Playing 11:
India: Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli(C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant(WK), Kedar Jadhav, Shivam Dube, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, and Yuzvendra Chahal.
West Indies: Shai Hope, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran(WK), Kieron Pollard(C), Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Romario, Shepherd, Kharry Pierre, Hayden Walsh, and Sheldon Cottrell.
ALSO READ: India vs WI 2019: T20I Series Player Ratings (Report Card)
Adesh Kothari is the founder of AK4Tsay1 Cricalytics.
Cricket to him is like what ‘Football is to Lionel Messi’, ‘Singing is to Lata Mangeshkar’, ‘Dancing is to Michael Jackson’, and what ‘Acting is to Clint Eastwood’.
Besides his effervescent love for Cricket, Adesh is an MBA by qualification.
