India are set to square off against West Indies in the first of the 3-match ODI series on Sunday at Ahmedabad’s Narendra Modi Stadium. The series holds great significance for India, primarily in the fact that this assignment will mark the start of Rohit Sharma’s full-time captaincy in the white-ball format. In this article, we will be previewing that all-important match from the home team’s perspective and analyze India’s playing XI for the first IND vs WI ODI.
The Openers
As previously mentioned, Rohit Sharma will be making a comeback to the Indian side with the added responsibility of captaincy on his shoulders this time around. His inclusion would also see him feature at the top of the batting order as the team’s de facto opener. Partnering with him for the first game would be Mayank Agarwal.
It’s interesting to think that a combination of COVID-19 cases to Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, and a familial obligation for KL Rahul would allow Mayank, someone who wasn’t even originally selected in the squad, to partner captain Rohit at the top of the order.
Former captain Virat Kohli will continue to feature at the one-down position; while his ardent fans would be crossing their fingers for that elusive 71st international century to finally arrive. The number 4 spot- a position that has been the Achiles heel of the team for some time now- presents some very interesting options. Having tested COVID positive, the incumbent Shreyas Iyer is likely to stay out of contention for the first match; which means that anyone of Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant, or Deepak Hooda could have a chance batting two-down.
Middle Order
At the moment, Surya seems to be the most likely option, thanks to the like-for-like attributes that he has to offer. However, depending on the situation, the think-tank could also be tempted to take a punt with Rishabh Pant at number four like they did in the second ODI against South Africa a few weeks ago. But with all the batter unavailabilities, newbie Deepak Hooda is virtually guaranteed to make his ODI debut. His part-time spin bowling would offer good support to the spin-bowling duo of Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal.
Speaking of whom, ‘Washi’ looks well set to make his comeback in the white-ball team with this series. Factoring in the absence of Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya from the lineup, his role as a lower-order batsman becomes all the more important. He, alongside Deepak Chahar and Shardul Thakur, will have to shoulder a good deal of the finishing responsibilities.
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Bowling attack
As the most experienced bowler in this attack, Yuzi Chahal will have a lot resting on his shoulders, especially against a mercurial Windies batting lineup. At some point in the series, we might see the ‘Kul-Cha’ duo of him and Kuldeep Yadav playing together. But for the opening salvo, Washington Sundar seems to be the more likely candidate. Deepak Chahar will function as the team’s opening bowler, while Lord Shardul will bowl the overs in the middle.
For the final spot, the team would ideally like to go for a death overs’ specialist. Prasidh Krishna has been reasonably impressive across all the chances he has got in ODIs, but Mohammed Siraj’s stocks have been on a constant rise across all formats of the game. So expect him to play as the first-choice pacer.
Probable Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (captain), Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj.