West Indies will lock horns against India in the first T20I at the Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad on Friday. Both of these teams will look to draw first blood in the series and come up with a complete performance after the conclusion of the ODI series, which India clinched by 3-0.
We take a look at the current form, head to head, players to look out for, and squads of both teams in our match preview.
Current form for India: L W W W W
India has been in fine form and recently defeated England by 2-1 in the T20I series. The Rohit Sharma-led team will be confident of carrying the same momentum against the Windies and coming up with a collective show. The tourists will be definitely boosted by the return of Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja.
Current form for West Indies: W W NR L L
West Indies haven’t been at their best and they will be determined to turn the tables. The Windies had won the three-match series against Bangladesh by 2-0 but they will be aware that a potent Indian team will pose a much more difficult challenge to them.
Head to Head: Matches: 20, Won by India: 13, Won by WI: 6, NR: 1.
India clearly holds the advantage against West Indies in the head-to-head battle.
Players to look out for: Rohit Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav Shreyas Iyer, Arshdeep Singh, and Ravindra Jadeja will be the crucial players for India.
Nicholas Pooran, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Kyle Mayers, Brandon Kings, Walsh Jr. will hold the key for the Windies.
India’s squad for 5 T20Is: Rohit Sharma (Captain), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul*, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, R Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav*, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.
*The inclusion of KL Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav is subject to fitness.
Note: Only India has announced its T20I squad so far.
