A 3-0 whitewash would be playing a huge mental factor in the West Indies dressing room but they will be feeling a bit relieved as we now move to the shortest format, T20 format, which is a completely different forte, and if there is any team that have mastered the art of playing this format, West Indies rank high up.
The ODI series saw a dominating approach by the Indians making sure they all the matches by comfortable margins and from what we saw in the series, the Windies do have a decent bowling attack with the likes of Akeal Hosein and Odean Smith on their side.
Abhara amadavada, Are kalakata!🙏🏾 #INDvWI
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) February 12, 2022
The #MenInMaroon have travelled to Kolkota ahead of the T20I Series v India. pic.twitter.com/HUx9X48ppo
However, their batting has been below par and they will require their experienced lads, Nicholas Pooran and Kieron Pollard to lead from the front if they are to make a comeback. Few of the players in the West Indies side winning big deals in the recently concluded IPL mega auction would have definitely done all good to their morale.
Can the Caribbean side bounce back in their favorite format? Or will India under the Rohit Captaincy continue their sheer dominance?
Match timings
Match Toss Time: 18:30 IST (13:00 GMT)
Match Start Time: 19:00 IST (13:30 GMT)
Match Venue: Eden Gardens, Kolkata
Head to head
Matches Played: 17, India: 10, West Indies 6: 15, N/R: 1
Weather conditions and pitch
Team News
India will be without the services of spearhead bowlers Mohammad Shami and Jasprit Bumrah. Indian vice-captain KL Rahul too misses out and Rishabh Pant has been made the stand-in vice-captain for this series. Another huge blow came in the form of Washington Sundar being ruled out due to a hamstring and Venkatesh Iyer is likely to replace him in the playing Xl.
For the visitors, there is no update on the recovery status of their skipper Kieron Pollard and they will be hoping he can take the field. The rest of the team looks to be available and we do not expect many changes from what they featured in the ODI series.
Probable Playing Xl
India (Ind): Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Venkatesh Iyer, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Mohammad Siraj, Deepak Chahar/ Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal
West Indies (WI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell
Must-Picks
Indian skipper Rohit Sharma has been in pretty good form and he is expected to get off to a flyer early in the innings. West Indies all-rounder Odean Smith has been in great form over the ODI series and his ability to hit the ball hard and pick crucial wickets will hold the key.
Indian opener Ishan Kishan and West Indies vice-captain and wicket-keeper batsman Nicholas Pooran are our two other must-picks for the opening T20I encounter between the two sides.
India vs West Indies fantasy team
Captain and vice-captain picks
Prediction
The Indians have been impeccable in home conditions in recent times and Eden gardens as we know could assist the slower bowlers to a great extent and we feel the West Indies batsmen may just find the going tough. They would require very special innings from one of their batsmen if they are to go one up in the series.
Cricwizz predicts India to win the 1st T20I against West Indies and lead the 3-match series, 1-0.
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