🏏West Indies tour of India 2026: 1st ODI - on 27/09/20 @2:00 PM IST🏏- Page 3

Live visuals: Kohli and Gill are having a chat before the Indian team gathers around for a huddle, with Gill doing the talking. Then comes a special moment for Naman Dhir as he receives his maiden India cap. He is all set to make his international debut, and the huge smile on his face says it all.

Aadya has more updates for us, which should give you a few clues about who's playing and who's not. "(Gurnoor) Brar is the first one to mark his run-up, followed by Prasidh. On the side, Motie and Lawes have started to warm up their bowling arms. Siraj is bowling full-throttle alongside (Auqib) Nabi on the side nets. Meanwhile, Reddy has marked his run-up." He adds, "Rohit has finally made his way to the middle, leading to a massive roar. He starts off with a jog, while Kohli and Gambhir are having a long chat."

The highly anticipated day has arrived, with India set to face West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series on Sunday in Thiruvananthapuram. Stalwarts Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli will be in action as India begin their preparations for the 2027 ODI World Cup. The series marks the start of a long journey in the 50-over format for skipper Shubman Gill and his team as they build towards next year's World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia. However, while the team management continues to grapple with the absence of several players due to injuries and the ongoing Asian Games in Japan, the public narrative remains firmly centred on the two greats, Rohit and Kohli.

Pitch Report | Abhinav Mukund and Daren Ganga: It's a pretty warm day here in Thiruvananthapuram to start off this ODI series. Early 30s, the temperature. Let's take a look at the dimensions. Pitch number four, pretty even on each side: 65 meters on either side, and the longest boundary down the ground is 74 meters. It looks like a red soil pitch, but it's actually black Mandya clay from neighboring Karnataka. You would know with that sort of soil, you'll get an extra bounce. I'm looking firstly about the grass covering and if you look at the surface, it's minimal, and that means that there will be less lateral movement. This surface is hard. So that means to say that the energy will stay on the ball and not absorbed from the surface. It will slide on good for batting, and batting should be a little bit stronger than bowling. Now, one of the things that bowlers will take into consideration is that change in the laws. Since July 2025, those two new balls used from either end converge into one in that 34th over, and the degree of swing in the last 10 overs has changed from 0.6-0.65 to just about 0.8-0.83 and that to me is a slight advantage for bowlers to capitalize on in this first ODI. And it will also help that the ball will be dry. The curator confirms that there is no dew over the last two, three days, and the anti-dew agent has been applied as well. Maybe a good day to win the toss, bat first, score big.

Kohli and Gill are having a chat before the Indian team gathers around for a huddle, with Gill doing the talking. Now comes a special moment for Naman Dhir as he receives his maiden India cap. He is all set to make his international debut, and the huge smile on his face says it all.

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Shubman Gill: We are gonna bowl first, looks like a decent surface. WIll come better under the lights, so want to chase.

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Shai Hope: Doesn't really matter, but we would have batted first. Quick turnaround for us from the CPL.

Shubman Gill: We are gonna bowl first, looks like a decent surface. Will come better under the lights, so want to chase. We have a got a decent combination, four bowlers and two allrounders. 20 off matches to go for the World Cup, so good for us to test the combination. We are going with four bowlers.

Arree wah gill won the toss

Teams:

West Indies (Playing XI): John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope(w/c), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul(w), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna

India have left Mohammed Siraj out of the XI, while West Indies are going without their young left-arm wristspinner Vitel Lawes. The bowling options for India are: Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Nitish Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja and Naman Dhir.