India eye an unassailable lead to seize the series while West Indies desperate to restore parity

Despite a tricky start to the series that saw the Indian batters wobbling in the face of an exceptionally ordinary total, at the end of it all, things panned out decently as the Men in Blue seized a five-wicket victory in the 1st ODI.

The absence of the starry names in the fast-bowling unit did very little to deter the Indian spirits as Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik and Hardik Pandya did just fine while Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav delivered the payload handsomely. However, when it comes to the batting unit, Team India will need some serious contemplation as they were all over the place in the first game.

Ishan Kishan would continue to be a driving force in the Indian batting ranks while the others will have to step up. All eyes will be on Shubman Gill as the Caribbean tour has been slightly tricky with the runs hard to come by. India may be tempted to try and test Ruturaj Gaikwad as Suryakumar Yadav’s struggles in the ODI format keep on piling.

The Indian bowling unit may also see a bit of a manoeuvre as Yuzvendra Chahal and Axar Patel may also be included with the latter, in all likelihood, to replace Shardul Thakur who didn’t really have a great time. With all said and done, India may want to keep a majority of their winning combination intact as the West Indies struggle to keep things in control.

The Islanders will need a serious facelift if they are to change the course of action currently. Gudakesh Motie and Shai Hope were the two blazing trails of brilliance wherein the remainder of the team was simply a dwindling shadow of their glorious past in front of a bedazzling Indian team.

India will be eyeing to hit the kill switch, bagging the series in the very second game so that they can go forth with the experimentation in full bloom in the final match wherein West Indies will be desperate to keep things alive.

Ground Watch:

As we play at the same venue as that of the first ODI, the batters will be on a watch-out to try and escape the various twists and turns of the opening fixture. With the spinners having an upper hand, we may see both sides opting to add a bit of turn to their ranks that can allow them an additional yard of leeway when they take the field for the second contest of the series.

Head to head:

Matches played: 140

West Indies: 63

India: 71

Match Details:

Match: West Indies vs India

Venue: Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados

Date: 29th July 2023

Time: 7:00 PM IST

Squads:

West Indies:

Shai Hope (c), Rovman Powell (vc), Alick Athanaze, Kyle Mayers, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Jayden Seales

India:

Rohit Sharma (c), Hardik Pandya (vc), Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Ravindra Jadeja, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik.