In the West Indies tour of India, the first T20I of the three-match series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Wednesday, February 16 at 7:30 PM IST.
After clinching the ODI series 3-0, the Indians will be heading into this fixture on a much more confident note. Rohit Sharma and the team will be highly focused on the upcoming fixtures considering the much-awaited T20 World Cup 2022 later this year. The Indian team, who failed to qualify last year will try to form a robust batting order and play as many games as possible before the international T20 marquee event commences. With the likes of Rohit, Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan, Suryakumar Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal, the Indian team seems like a formidable side against the Windies on Indian pitches. The Indians have currently acquired the second spot on the ICC T20 Team Rankings.Â
The tourists are yet to register a victory in the ongoing bilateral series. West Indies had an upper hand on several different occasions during the ODI series but they couldn’t capitalise on it. The Windies will be looking forward to the shortest format considering their record. They are the only team to win the T20 World Cup twice. In the 2016 edition of the T20 World Cup, Carlos Braithwaite smashed four sixes in the last over against Ben Stokes to win the second T20 World title. Those iconic sixes were hit at the Eden Gardens itself. The Windies have fond memories of the upcoming T20 series’ venue. The Kieron Pollard-led West Indies have the right ammunition to overpower the Indians in their backyard in the shortest format. The Windies have currently acquired the seventh position on the ICC T20 Team Rankings.
Head-to-head:
In the head-to-head competition between the two teams, the home team has the upper hand. The two teams played 17 matches out of which India won 10 fixtures and the Caribbean side emerged victorious on six occasions. In the last outing between the two teams, India beat West Indies by 67 runs.
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