India vs West Indies 1st T20I: Preview and Predicted Playing XI
The Windies are set to kick start their tour of India with a T20I series, with the first T20I being played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Friday, December 6.
Head to Head Overall: India comfortably leads the overall index with 8 wins out of their 13 completed T20I fixtures against the West Indies.
Head to Head in India: The visitors are still in search of their maiden T20I win against India on Indian soil.
Weather Report: A clear evening with no chance of rain, with the temperature hovering around 21-23°C is expected.
India
The Indians are in the middle of a splendid home run and are fresh off a clean sweep of Bangladesh. The hosts also hold the psychological advantage due to their unblemised home record against the Windies, which they would love to keep intact.
Also see - India West Indies schedule
Batting
Key Batsmen: Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul
Rohit Sharma and skipper Virat Kohli are team's highest run-getters in the shortest format with 2539 runs and 2450 runs respectively, and one should expect them to come out firing against the Windies. The presence of KL Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja, and Manish Pandey will bolster their batting power.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Mohammed Shami, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammad Shami was no less than a nemesis for Bangladesh in the recent test series, and he is expected to be Kohli's first pick tonight, while Kul-Cha (Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal) is always a challenging pair for their opponents. Windies will be vary of the wrist spin duo.
Predicted Playing XI
Virat Kohli (C), Rohit Sharma (VC), Rishabh Pant (W), Manish Pandey, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer.
West Indies
The Caribbean men are having a poor run in this format. They have won just one out of 9 T20I fixtures played this year and are coming off a 1-2 series defeat against the Afghans. Despite this, the team looks settled under new skipper Kieron Pollard and has every chance to surprise the hosts.
Batting
Key Batsmen: Evin Lewis, Kieron Pollard, Shimron Hetmyer
Evin Lewis and Kieron Pollard are the squad's most consistent performers and their batting prowess is enough to send shivers down the opponent's camp. These two alongside Jason Holder and Shimron Hetmyer will be their key batsman against India.
Bowling
Key Bowlers: Kesrick Williams, Sheldon Cottrell
Kesrick Williams is termed as the backbone of Windies bowling setup and was most successful bowler against the Afghans with 8 wickets in 3 games. He together with Sheldon Cottrell are expected to be skipper's go-to-bowlers in Hyderabad.
Predicted Playing XI
Kieron Pollard (C), Denesh Ramdin (W), Sherfane Rutherford, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder, Kesrick Williams, Sheldon Cottrell, Hayden Walsh, Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons and Shimron Hetmyer.