Over 2: Khaleel bowls his first ball in T20I cricket a wide and concedes a four off the last ball. WI 16/0
OVER 1: First four of the innings comes from a misfield from debutant Krunal while the second one from Hope who plays a cracking pull shot in front of the square on the on-side. WI 8/0
Shai Hope and Denesh Ramdin have come out to open for Windies while Umesh Yadav has the new ball for India
Former Indian captain Mohammad Azharuddin rings the bell at the Eden Gardens
Rohit Sharma: "We've played a lot of cricket here and seen that when you bat second and have a score in front of you, it becomes easier. And the dew factor will be massive as well. Dew has already started to set in, but I hope it won't affect things too much in the first innings. We've got to focus on the basics and it's about adapting as soon as we can. A lot of these guys have played T20 cricket, so they understand the demands of the game. Keeping all that in mind, I'm expecting a good performance here. We're playing against the world champions, so it will be interesting."
Carlos Brathwaite: "I would have bowled first as well. We were here last night and the dew was ridiculous. But we are bowling second now so we have to contend with that. We have plans for the batsman and bowlers. I've told them to just go and be expressive, enjoy the occasion. Not everyday you get to play in front of 30-40 thousand people. We have three debutants, Oshane Thomas, Fabian Allen, Khari Pierre."
Bhuvneshwar isn't playing this match
"Bhuvneshwar Kumar has a gastric complaint and is expected to be fine for the next match in Lucknow. He has stayed back at the hotel," says a BCCI spokesperson.
TEAMS:
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant (w), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav
West Indies (Playing XI): Rovman Powell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin(w), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite(c), Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas
Debuts for Krunal Pandya and Khaleel Ahmed
It's a proud moment for @krunalpandya24 and Khaleel Ahmed as they are all set to make their T20I debut for… https://t.co/K41cc1yJ0i
— BCCI (@BCCI) 1541335748000
TOSS: Indian skipper Rohit Sharma wins toss, opts to bowl against West Indies
PREVIEW
The Test series was over in a jiffy with West Indies losing both matches inside three days. The Caribbeans came back strongly in the ODIs after losing the first game. They levelled the series 1-1 by tying the second and winning the third before fizzling out in the last two to lose the series 1-3.
The visitors are expected to fare much better in the shortest format of the game in which they are the reigning world champions. West Indies are also the only team to have won the ICC World T20 title twice. The Caribbeans would love to make a statement once again at the venue where they had won the World T20 two years back when they take on India in the first of the three-match T20 series at the Eden Gardens on Sunday. Incidentally this is the first T20 series to be held in India this year.
With regular skipper Virat Kohli and ex-skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni missing the series and West Indies squad boosted by the inclusion of T20 specialists like Kieron Pollard, Evin Lewis, Darren Bravo and skipper Carlos Brathwaite, it promises to be a keen contest. Young Shimron Hetmeyar, who displayed red-hot form in the ODIs will be another player to watch out for.
from Times of India https://ift.tt/2RwrGvB
