IND vs WI | No Sanju Samson, Mukesh Kumar Debuts As India Elect To Bowl First
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Rohit Sharma and Gill are all set to open for India (AP Photo)
We are all set for the first ODI of a three-match ODI series between the hosts West Indies and a star-studded Indian line-up. The Indian skipper, Rohit Sharma has started off well too by winning the toss and has elected to bowl first in a hope to chase down a total on a decent deck at Kensington Oval, Barbados.
Talking about both the teams, India are going with a combination of four seamers and two spinners. Hardik will play as a fourth seamer and Mukesh Kumar, who did pretty well in his debut Test match few days back, is set to make his ODI debut as well. Ishan Kishan has been preferred over Sanju Samson for the number 4 position while Umran Malik also returns to the fold.
West Indies are going into this game without the express pace of Oshane Thomas and Alzarri Joseph and they need to bat well now to post a challenge to this strong Indian team.
Here is what two captains said in the toss -
Rohit Sharma (India Captain): "We are gonna field first. No particular reason. We wanted to try few things and see where we are as a team. Keeping that in mind we want to head into the World cup with a clear mind and we have few games before that. Result is also important and we want to try out some new things without compromising the result. All cricketers around the world need to keep this mind and take it forward. Our guys have done it pretty well. Hopefully we will get what we want here. We've got 4 seamers and 2 spinners."
Shai Hope (West Indies Captain): "First of all, every match and every series means a lot and we want to win the matches. We have got some quality spinners but we need to bowl in the right areas and capitalize our chances. There will be a bit of moisture on the surface and we will try to bat carefully at the beginning."
West Indies have not qualified for the World Cup 2023 and this is an opportunity for them to start afresh and get their house in order.
For India, this is an opportunity to iron out their flaws, and they will be hoping that Ishan Kishan fires at number 4. However, the non-selection of Sanju Samson will raise quite a few eyebrows, as Ishan Kishan failed at number 4 in the series against the Aussies earlier this year. Samson, on the other hand, has done well in the limited opportunities he has got in the ODI setup, and this will be a big blow for all his fans.
India's bowling group has a couple of young guns in the form of Mukesh Kumar and Umran Malik. So, let’s see if they can deliver in what is expected to be a cracking game.
.jpg "Jaiswal prepares for the T20Is")
