For the first time in three decades India will play a One-Day International (ODI) in Guyana when they turn up at the National Stadium, Providence today looking for a positive start in the three-match series against West Indies.
Beaten 3-0 in the preceding T20 series, the West Indies team will be pushing for better fortunes in the 50-over format and will want to keep an eye on their Achilles heel- their batting.
Only twice have these two sides played on the South American continent, first in 1983 at Albion, Berbice when India won by 27 runs and then in 1989 at the Georgetown Cricket Club ground, Bourda where the hosts won by 101 runs.
For West Indies captain, Jason Holder, the horrors of the recent World Cup are still fresh in his mind which has forced him to analyse his side’s performance and pinpoint what went wrong.
“We had quite a bit of time to sit back and think about how the World Cup went and our shortcomings, “said Holder.
“We had a few discussions in the group and obviously our batting let us down in the World Cup. You know I didn’t think we batted well enough for longer periods, we often talk about the setbacks and guys batting as deep as possible and to the best of their abilities,” he added.
Contrastingly, the West Indian skipper was satisfied with the efforts made by the bowlers in the World Cup and opined that they will play a crucial role as the West Indies look to get early wickets and hopefully break into the middle order of the “heavily stacked batting line up.”
“I felt the bowling was pretty decent throughout the World Cup and we had a few bright sparks like Sheldon Cottrell and everyone else pretty much chipped in. I think consistency really plagued us in the World Cup,” Holder stated.
With a break from the format, Holder suggested that the team is now “fresh” and is expectedly coming with new approaches.
“We had a couple weeks to sit back and divulge what happened in the World Cup and I think the players are fresh and come with different ideas and concepts and ways they want to improve and there are ways we can get better,” he said adding …“I think it’s just a matter of each and every individual play their role and know and understand what is expected of them and execute, execution goes a long way, you can sit back and plan all day but at the end of the day you must come out and execute.”
At the centre of the changes for the West Indies from the T20 side includes Chris Gayle who is 12 runs short of surpassing Brian Lara as the leading run getter in the format for West Indies.
On that note, Holder said it’s “special for Chris, he has done well and it is great to still have him in the squad, he obviously brings a lot to the team, his presence is always felt when he steps on the field and we are always happy to have him in the dressing room.”
Gayle, along with Holder, Roston Chase, Shai Hope and Kemar Roach are the changes to the side.
Both Holder and Virat Kohli agreed that the conditions were extremely hot but the wicket played well and is expected to do the same today.
“It’s very hot! I saw the game a couple days ago and I felt the wicket was a bit slow and that is what you come to expect from Guyana but overall it is a good wicket with similar things to when we last played and that was some high scoring encounters,” Holder said.
Meanwhile, having already secured the T20 series with a 3-0 whitewash, India’s captain, Kohli believes that his side will just look to play consistent cricket and maintain their decent form.
“Right now, for us the priority now and always has been to be one of the most consistent sides in the world and I think in the last three or four years we have been able to achieve that. We are the number two side in the world and it is a good reason for that, we have been going to number one sometime and that is the kind of cricket we have played that has gotten us up there…the priority is to keep Indian cricket at the top, go out there and win games, find ways to win,” Kohli said.
Notwithstanding the heavy downpour followed by blistering sunshine, the number one ranked batsman in the format explained that India, “didn’t have any practice sessions here yet.”
He, however acknowledged that the “conditions are pretty hot.”
Kohli disclosed that a lot of the players would have taken a day off yesterday but nevertheless is of the point of view that it was good to get a hit out in the middle and get some runs.
“The guys that bowled and fielded I think it is very important for them to get rest and recover for the one-day because it is going to be a longer game.
“The conditions are like this are going to be challenging so it is good we got a full game and a lot of guys got a hit out in the middle.”
Rohit Sharma, who is ranked second in the world did not play the final T20I but is expected to partner with Shikhar Dhawan, whom his captain expressed confidence in his ability.
“He [Dhawan] is a very experienced player, T20 cricket we don’t really look much into how guys are playing and form and stuff like that because you need to get on and stuff like that so 50-over cricket gives you more time to get into your innings and I think once he gets into his time in the middle we know his skillset and how he can bat,” Kohli said.
With the young guns looking to establish themselves, Rishabh Pant, Lokesh Rahul and Shreyas Iyer will all want to make a case for their permanent spot in the Indian side while Guyana’s usually spin-friendly wicket could lead to the inclusion of Ravindra Jadeja and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Against the West Indies, India have lost just two of their last 10 matchups but with the inclusion of key players in their 50-over team, West Indies look more imposing as well and with the decent form of Nicholas Pooran and a few others it could be a keenly contested match.
West Indies Squad: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, John Campbell, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Jason Holder (capt), Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen, Carlos Brathwaite
India squad: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (capt), KL Rahul, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed, Navdeep Saini, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal.
