Match Details
Date: August 3, 2023
Time: 8:00 PM IST
Venue: Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
Live Ball-By-Ball Commentary: SportsTiger App
Preview
West Indies are going to take on India in the first of five T20Is at the Brian Lara Stadium on August 3. These teams have played each other once before at this venue in the shortest format, to kick-off a five match T20I series in 2022, where the visitors managed to achieve a comfortable win. It wasn’t an easy tournament for the hosts, losing it 4-1 last year. Overall, Team India is in the midst of a transition in the T20Is, while the West Indies are building up a formidable squad once again, which will make it an exciting series for the viewers to watch.
Pitch Report
In the short history of Brian Lara Stadium, only one men’s T20I was played between West Indies and India, which the visitors won with a margin of 68 runs after defending a big total of 190 runs. Looking at this match, the average first innings total for the upcoming T20I contest at this venue could reach up to 180, if not more.
Team Analysis
West Indies
West Indies haven’t had the best of times in limited-over cricket in the last couple of years, but they are starting to put together a very decent squad under the coaching of the multi-time T20 World Cup winning coach Darren Sammy. The likes of captain Rovman Powell, vice-captain Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, and Shimron Hetmyer have been very impressive with the bat in franchise T20 cricket in the recent past. In the bowling department, the West Indies can do better in terms of adding depth to their T20I roster, but Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hosein are more than handy with the ball on their day.
SportsTiger Playing XI of West Indies
Johnson Charles, Kyle Mayers (vc), Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell (c), Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Obed McCoy, Alzarri Joseph
India
Ever since Indian management have not picked captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the T20 squad, post the World Cup, the stand-in captain Hardik Pandya has led them exceptionally well. The in-form T20 batters from the Indian Premier League 2023, including Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma will be eyeing their debut in the shortest format of the game after being named in the squad. The bowling attack of the Men in Blue has been spearheaded in the T20I format by Arshdeep Singh for the past year, who will be looking for support from the experienced spinners like Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in particular.
SportsTiger Playing XI of India
Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Suryakumar Yadav (vc), Hardik Pandya (c), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Arshdeep Singh
Match Prediction
Conclusion
West Indies are going to be very upbeat about winning a few matches in the upcoming T20I series against India, due to the balanced squad they have at their disposal. Hence, the visitors will have to deliver consistent performances right throughout the five T20I matches, to have the best possible chance of clinching the series.
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