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Clinical is the word for the victory by India over West Indies in 1st ODI. It appeared that the Indian think tank had done a lot of homework on each player of the West Indies. Vice Versa, Pollard, who has shared the dressing room with Mumbai Indians knew about each player and set a plan for each one.

As written in our first article, we expected the pitch to assist spin and India selected Chahal and Washington as spinner and Hooda as a part-time spinner. The absence of Rahul paved the way for Ishan Kishan as an opener and the way he capitalized on his chance. 

Deepak Hooda was preferred over Kuldeep Chahal and Prasidh over Deepak Chahar, This is not to our expectations as Kuldeep is the fastest Indian spinner to reach 100 wickets and he deserves a chance on the spinning track. I  believe, if he would have been there then West Indies would not have reached 150.

Pollard's failure ensured that West Indies will lose and it happened. However, the bowling of Akeal Hosein impressed me. He is the best thing to happen to West Indies cricket. He can turn the ball at a fast pace and he will be a bowler for all three formats.

Captaincy of Rohit was par excellent. He was astute, bowling changes were superb and he was advising them on all the occasions. He was lucky to get all three DRS correct.  It is a great start for Rohit, It will repose the faith in his captaincy as fitting into the big shoes of Virat Kohli is not an ordinary task.

Match timings

Match Toss Time: 13:00 IST (07:30 GMT)

Match Start Time: 13:30 IST (08:00 GMT)

Match Venue: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Head to head

Matches Played: 134, India: 65, West Indies 63: 15, Tied: 2, NR: 4

Toss

Due to the dew factor, the team winning the toss will choose to bowl as both teams have two spinners, and spinners have problems in gripping the wet ball.

Team

India

Rohit is not the one to tinker with changes if the team is on winning ways and as ground or condition is the same so why induce change. The only change that will be inevitable will be the replacement of Ishan Kishan with KL Rahul, who makes his comeback.

Probable playing Xl

Rohit Sharma(C), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammad Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal

West Indies

Roach is a shadow of his past, Nicholas Pooran is failing consistently, Darren Bravo is fighting for his place do he will play slowly. West Indies need to replace one of them with Bonner. If Hope performs, West Indies will be in contention.

Probable playing Xl

Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Darren Bravo/ Bonner, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Kemar Roach

Verdict

West Indies have the capacity to score between 230 to 260. India can put up a score of around 300 and chase upto 280 so in all probability, India is winning the 2nd ODI and winning the series. The only problem that could arise is of India's late middle-order being exposed but we do not see that happening given the form of the Indian openers.

Cricwizz predicts India to win the 2nd ODI and claim the series.

Happy viewing.

Disclaimer

The views and opinions expressed in the article are those of the author's view and do not necessarily reflect the official match scores, proceedings, or position of the match in any way.