India and West Indies are ready to lock horns in the first match of the T20I series, which starts on the 16th of February in Kolkata. After an annihilating whitewash in the ODI series, the Caribbean team will look to fight back in its favourite format. The West Indies might look weak in ODI and Test format, but they are often very unpredictable in the T20Is. In their recently concluded T20I series against England in Barbados, the West Indies beat the tourists 3-2 in a hard-fought series. While West Indies will try to save themselves from more humiliating defeats, Rohit Sharma and co will look to find their core players for the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. So, let us now preview the India vs West Indies 1st T20I in detail and also discuss the fantasy team for the match.
India vS West Indies 1st T20I Preview
Ind VS WI, Dream 11 Top Picks
KL Rahul, Axar Patel, and Washington Sundar have been ruled out of the T20I series against West Indies. Subsequently, Deepak Hooda, Kuldeep Yadav, and Ruturaj Gaikwad have been added to the squad as replacements for the injured players. On the other hand, Kieron Pollard will expect more contributions from his batsmen. In form, Rovman Powell will be expected to provide a solid finishing touch to the Caribbean innings.
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Top Pics: India
Indian captain, Rohit Sharma, showed glimpses of good form in the ODI series. Returning from injury, Rohit played a brisk 50 ball 60 runs inning in the first ODI. As a captain, Rohit has had a good batting record for India and has also scored a T20I hundred against the West Indies. To add icing to the cake, the T20I series will be played in Kolkata. Eden Gardens has been one of Rohit’s favourite grounds over the years. We have appointed Sharma as the captain of our fantasy team as we expect a lot of runs from him on Wednesday.
The last ten months have been nothing short of a fairy tale for Harshal Patel. He was traded for INR 20 Lakhs to the RCB and he emerged as the purple cap winner in IPL 2021. Patel made his international debut in November last year and has now become a millionaire after the IPL 2022 Mega Auction. He has a great variety of balls in his arsenal and is a proven wicket-taker. Yet again, he is expected to pick some crucial wickets against the West Indies and halt the scoring rate in slog overs. In our fantasy team, we have chosen Harshal as our vice-captain as we believe he can take a good number of wickets.
Deepak Chahar is expected to bag a few wickets in the first T20I vs WI. Chahar is a smart powerplay bowler and usually bowls three overs in the powerplay. West Indies have a fragile opening pair and a bowler like Deepak can surely exploit their weakness in the first six overs.
Top Picks: West Indies
Jason Holder is a necessity for every fantasy cricket player. He is in a sublime form of late and should be included in every fantasy team. Because of his tall height, he gets a good bounce off the pitch and he varies his pace well. With the bat, his contributions have been very vital for his team. As a result, he is a very good candidate for the captain’s role in a fantasy team.
Nicolas Pooran is a multi-dimensional cricketer. He bats at number 3 and also keeps the wickets for his team. He is a very unpredictable batsman with an equal probability of failing. But on his day, he can win matches single-handedly. Batting at 3, he gets a sufficient number of balls to play. As a keeper, he can grab a few catches as well. Thus, we expect a good number of fantasy points from Pooran in the first T20I.
Suggested Fantasy Playing XI: India vs West Indies
Nicolas Pooran, Rishabh Pant, Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Harshal Patel(vc), and Akeal Hosein.
If due to any reason, Ishan Kishan does not play the match, Brandon King can be picked in place of Kishan.
Possible Playing XI
India:
Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal.
West Indies:
Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Dominic Drakes.
Pitch Report
The match will start at 7 PM IST. Thus, the captains can expect the dew to settle in as the game progresses. As a result, batting will become easier during the course of the game. Usually, Eden Gardens has a flat pitch, perfect for batting. So, the team batting first would want to post a big total for the chasing team. By now, it would be clear that both the captains would desperately want to bowl first on winning the toss.
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Live Telecast and Streaming Details
The first T20I will be played at the Eden Gardens on Feb 16th. India vs West Indies, the first T20I will begin at 19:00 IST. The broadcasting rights of the series are with Star Sports Network. Therefore, the fans can enjoy the match by tuning in to Star Sports 1 and Star Sports 1 Hindi channels. Also, the live streaming of the match will be available at the Disney+Hotstar app.
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Have a good day ahead
