India firm favourites going into first ODI against West Indies

India will have ir tails up whey y play West Indies in first One-day International of three-match rubber here on Sunday, seeking a 10th straight bilateral ODI series win against side from Caribbean. Both teams will have an eye on wear after rains in last 24 hours. home team will miss services of seamer Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is out with a groin problem and Shikhar Dhawan, who is yet to recover from injury he suffered during Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy tournament.

Mumbai's Shardul Thakur, who plays for Chennai Super Kings in IPL, has been called up as replacement for injured Bhuvneshwar. Virat Kohli's men have momentum after winning T20 series with a splendid batting performance in Mumbai where Rohit Sharma and K L Rahul, who is expected to continue as opener in absence of Dhawan, and captain himself displayed terrific form. It remains to be seen if team decides to hand Mayank Agarwal a debut after he was drafted in as replacement for Dhawan. Karnataka batsman has been in top form in Tests and has joined national team after featuring in Ranji game against Tamil Nadu in Dindigul.

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Shreyas Iyer has done well in opportunities he has received and is likely to be slotted at . 4. Former captain Anil Kumble, too, has favoured Mumbai player batting at .4 in ODI series against West Indies. position has been in spotlight for a while w with several players being tried, including Ambati Rayudu and Vijay Shankar, and Iyer is in with a chance to make it his own. focus will be on wicketkeeper-batsman Rishab Pant, who has been under fire for his unimpressive performances with bat and big gloves. first ODI could be ar chance for him to justify faith shown by Kohli and team manment.

It will be interesting to see if spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav reunite after last playing toger in World Cup, as Chepauk surface is expected to aid slow bowlers. experienced Mohammed Shami and Deepak Chahar will most probably form pace attack and would face a stern test against aggressive West Indies batting line-up. visitors will be hoping that big-hitting opener Evin Lewis, who suffered an injury while fielding in Mumbai T20, will be able to play a part in ODI leg of tour. Team officials said he was being assessed ahead of series opener.

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Windies batsmen have had a lot of success in T20s thanks to ir ultra-aggressive approach but ODIs will be a different ball game and as assistant coach Roddy Estwick stated batters need to focus on rotating strike, which y did well in series against Afghanistan recently. onus will be on WI batsmen to t only go on attack mode first up but also keep wickets in hand to accelerate in back-end. Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran have showed ir abilities in shortest format and need to display same in 50-overs game too if West Indies hopes to give India a run in this series.

All-rounder Roston Chase is likely to figure in XI and could provide some stability to line-up boasting of several power-hitters. Skipper Kieron Pollard, who has a rar modest record in ODIs, will have to lead by example and provide thrust in slog overs. Sheldon Cottrell will lead Caribbean bowling attack and will need to strike early if team hopes to restrict a formidable Indian batting unit with Rohit, Kohli and Rahul in omius form. or pacers including former captain Jason Hoder will have to step up as would spinners.

Leggie Hayden Walsh Jr bowled well in T20s and has a big task at hand to contain Kohli & Co, kwn to be adept at tackling spinners. An intriguing battle is on hand with Indian team favourite to add ODI series to T20 win but unpredictable West Indies can spring a surprise or two. Heavy overnight rain meant India's training session on eve of opener was called off.

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Teams

India: Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (WK), Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard (captain), Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Khary Pierre, Roston Chase, Alzarri Joseph, Kieron Pollard (Captain), Sheldon Cottrell, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Hayden Walsh Jr.

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