After thrashing West Indies 3-0 in the ODI series, India are surely on a high as they approach the T20I series. West Indies, on the other hand, will have to deal with their batting order. But, with the return of Shimron Hetmyer, the hosts have become a force to reckon with.
India too have got their seniors in Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya back in the T20I squad. Then they have also got Kuldeep Yadav who is now fit and ready to take on the West Indies. The hosts did defeat Bangladesh 2-0 in their last T20I series.
India have also recently appointed Paddy Upton back as their mental conditioning coach so the team will be better prepared mentally to face the pressure on the field. India will also be looking to fine-tune their team. That’s why the visitors are trying all possible combinations before the mega event.
So, today’s game will be a cracker of a contest as it is being played by two sides who have proven themselves to be match-winning sides. It will be interesting to see who takes the lead in the 5-match T20I series.
Pitch Report
The Brian Lara Stadium will be hosting an international game for the first time. However, if we look at the CPL records, then the stadium has hosted 31 games so far, the last one being played in 2020. Talking about the scoring rate, then it remains around 7.40. However, rain can spoil the game as there is a probability of 80% rain today.
WI vs IND, 1st T20I Probable Playing XI:
India
India would surely like to start things on a winning note as they have their senior players who are in good form right now. They have all of their players more or less set but they still need to see where all of them will fit.
Predicted Playing XI:
Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda/Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Harshal Patel, R Ashwin/Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan/Arshdeep Singh
West Indies
With Shimron Hetmyer back in the mix, West Indies have some hope of starting out on a winning note in the first T20I. Evin Lewis has not been picked for this series so it means that the hosts want Kyle Mayers and Brandon King to continue in the top order for West Indies.
Predicted Playing XI:
Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Odean Smith/Dominic Drakes/Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh Jr
Match Details
Venue: Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba
Date: 29th July 2022
Time: 8:00 PM IST
Stream: Fan Code
Live Broadcast: DD Sports
Match Prediction
India look the probable winners of today’s contest. However, West Indies cannot be undermined even for a second as they have the likes of Hetmyer and Holder who have the capability of hitting the big shots. So, it will be an even contest but most likely India will be winning the contest.
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