🏏India vs West Indies: 1st T20I at Brian Lara Stadium - 03/08/2023🏏 - Page 3

After a forgettable 2022-23 T20 WC Down Under, West Indies registered a 2-1 series win against South Africa away from home in March earlier this year. The core of their team remains the same for this series and they'll be keen to put on a show against the top-ranked T20I side. There's plenty of firepower in their batting line-up. Nicholas Pooran comes into this series on the back of a stellar season in the recently concluded MLC, where he not only was the leading run-getter but also played a match-winning blinder in the final - 137* off 55. The bowling isn't their strong suit but there's enough T20 experience.

On the other hand, Hardik Pandya will be leading a young side. That's been the case for India since their semifinal exit in the previous T20 WC. Even in a World Cup year, India didn't shy away from experimenting in the ODI leg. Expect nothing different in this format. Mind you, the 2024 T20 WC is set to be hosted by West Indies and the United States. There are three uncapped players in the Indian squad. How many will make their debut? Will any of the performances here strengthen the individuals' chance of making it to the ODI World Cup, which is just 63 days away? Shoot in your views/queries; the Have Your Say feature has been enabled for desktop users...

Two debutants for India - Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar!

Pitch Report | Daren Ganga: Same pitch which was used two days ago. You can see the footmarks. The cracks are not very wide. It's relatively dry. It'll be a good surface for batters.

West Indies have won the toss and have opted to bat

West Indies have won the toss and have opted to bat

Rovman Powell: We are gonna bat. Looks like a dry surface. India are playing a lot of spinners, let's see how we cope against them. The guys are confident. It's not a complete change in strategy. We are still boundary hitters, we are trying to run hard. We have gone with our strengths.

Rovman Powell: We are gonna bat. Looks like a dry surface. India are playing a lot of spinners, let's see how we cope against them. The guys are confident.

West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Johnson Charles (wk), 4 Nicholas Pooran, 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Rovman Powell (capt), 7 Jason Holder, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Alzarri Joseph, 11 Obed McCoy

Hardik Pandya: That was the whole plan for this tour as well. We might be coming here to play the World Cup. Some players might get a chance to play here. By the time we come here next time, we'll be prepared.