In the West Indies tour of India, the first ODI of the three-match series will be played on Sunday, February 6 at 1:30 PM IST at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India’s new full-time captain, Rohit Sharma marks his return after recovering from his injury.
The first ODI of the bilateral series will be team India’s first game on home soil in 2022. As a full-time captain, Rohit Sharma will be leading the Indian team for the first time in an ODI series. After facing a 3-0 defeat against South Africa in the ODI format, the Indian team will be aiming to bounce back. With the return of the successful opening pair, Rohit and Shikhar Dhawan along with Virat Kohli at number three, India’s batting unit looks formidable. Kuldeep Yadav has been added to the squad and will pair up with Yuzvendra Chahal. Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah have been rested while Ravichandran Ashwin has been left out. The Indians have acquired the fourth spot on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
On the other hand, West Indies will possess a threat to the Indian team with the experience they have in the Indian conditions. The Kieron Pollard-led West Indies team performed well against India in their last outing in the sub-continent. The team consists of some experienced contenders like Pollard, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder, Kemar Roach and Nicholas Pooran. The Windies also have the firepower with the bat to tackle any bowling unit around the world. West Indies currently have occupied the eighth spot on the ICC ODI Team Rankings.
Head-to-head:
In the head-to-head competition between the two teams, India slightly has the upper hand. The two teams played 133 matches so far out of which India won 64 games while the Windies emerged victorious on 63 occasions. The last outing between the two teams took place in the ODI format in 2019, the Indians beat the Windies by four wickets.
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