The Men in Blue are back with their regular captain Rohit Sharma to lock horns with West Indies in the first game of the 5-match T20I series in Trinidad. The game is being played at the Brian Lara Stadium which is hosting the first-ever international fixture. The hosts have won the toss and opted to bowl in the series opener. (IND vs WI 1st T20I Live Cricket Score)
Rohit, along with Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Dinesh Karthik, is back in the side and will lead a full-strength Indian team against West Indies. The hosts are playing the star dup of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, along with leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi. Also, left-arm fast bowler Arshdeep Singh, who made his debut in England, is back into the mix.
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“Ready to go. Good to have some time off. Pretty excited to get back and get things underway. The first international game is being played here, good to see the fans coming in large numbers. The facility looks good. Will have to look at how the wicket plays. Few guys have left, and few have come back. Quite excited to get underway,” Rohit Sharma said at the toss.
Home captain Nicholas Pooran informed that West Indies are playing one spinner in Akeal Hosein while young pacer Alzarri Joseph has been handed his debut cap. Also, dynamic batter Shimron Hetmyer is back in the playing XI.
“Going to bowl first. Maybe there’s something in the pitch. Nice to know what you’re chasing. Looking forward to this series. We enjoy the format. We like to entertain. One spinner. Alzarri Joseph making his debut. Shimron Hetmyer back into the team,” said Pooran after winning the toss.
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Here are the playing XIs:
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Rishabh Pant(w), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh.
West Indies: Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran(w/c), Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul.
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