It is rare to see teams compete with each other in T20Is let alone locking horns with one another in a five-match T20I series in an ODI World Cup year. However, the rare is set to happen as hosts West Indies and India will lock horns with each other in a five-match T20I series slated to kickstart from August 3 with the 1st T20I at the Brian Lara Cricket Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.
West Indies, who clearly struggled in the two-match Test series and were comprehensively beaten by a mammoth margin of 200 runs in the ODI series decider a few days ago can afford to smile as their T20 outfit has a very intimidating look to it and boasts of players who are known for their exploits in the T20 circuit.
Most importantly, the return of Nicholas Pooran, who recently powered MI New York to the inaugural Major League Cricket title in the USA will give the Windies the kind of boost they require before taking on a power-packed T20I side like team India. In addition to Pooran, the return of Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder will also bolster the hosts who will look to find a reason to smile as India's tour of the Caribbean draws to a close.
Though the series may not have enough significance in store for India, who have their eyes set on arguably the biggest prize on offer this calendar year - 0DI World Cup 2023, for the Windies it will mark the beginning of an extended T20 home season. Soon after the end of the T20I series, the West Indian players will participate in the Caribbean Premier League 2023 starting August 16 and will look to fine tune their preparations for the ICC men's T20 World Cup 2024 to be played in the West Indies and the USA.
For India it seems that there are a few debuts brewing as Yashasvi Jaiswal and Tilak Varma look desperate to repeat their IPL heroics in the international circuit. With India resting skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and pacer Mohammed Siraj, there are chances that both young Turks might get the chance to make their T20I debuts and prove to the entire world why they are rated so highly in the Indian Premier League.
Pitch Report
The venue played host to the ODI series decider between the two countries and the surface for the same was pretty good to bat on as India scored over 350 while batting first. Hence, a similar wicket can be expected for the curtain raiser of the T20I series.
Only one men's T20I game has been played thus far at the venue and that too involved both India and the Windies, with team India scoring 190 while batting first and winning the contest by a convincing margin of 68 runs. With the ground dimension not big enough to deter the batters from playing high-flying shots, one can expect some fireworks on Thursday.
Weather Forecast:
With a 40% chance of precipitation, passing showers can disrupt the tempo of the game and might ruin the mood of the spectators who will turn up at the venue in order to watch the pulsating contest in addition to the ones tuning in from their homes. Rain forecast brings the Duckworth-Lewis method into play and that can be a factor which the skipper winning the toss might take into consideration before taking the final call.
Playing XIs:
India:
Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Suryakumar Yadav, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik/Mukesh Kumar
West Indies:
Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell (c), Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph/Oshane Thomas
