India, who dominated with the bat in the rain-affected first One Day International (ODI) match, will look to carry forward their momentum when they take on the West Indies in the second match at the Queen's Park Oval in on Sunday. However, the weather in Port of Spain doesn't look promising and there is a forecast of rain and thunderstorm which might again prove to be a spoilsport for the teams.
Put in to bat, India made a good start with openers Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane putting up a 132-run partnership. But their efforts went in vain as rain played spoilsport with the match being abandoned.
With the sky likely to be overcast during Sunday's match also, both the teams will look to play more attacking cricket from the outset to offset the Duckworth/Lewis method of setting a target.
In the last match, the visitors opted for the strategy of starting slow and keeping wickets in hand for the last. India only managed to score 199/3 in 40 overs before the skies opened up. Because of this, the hosts were given a revised target of 194 runs to chase in 26 overs -- a not impossible task.
Apart from the openers, skipper Virat Kohli also clicked after a poor show in the summit clash of the Champions Trophy and will look to continue playing with the same momentum. But Yuvraj Singh's patchy form will be a concern for the Indian skipper while going to the second ODI.
The bowling department, which consists of pacers Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Hardik Pandya, alongside spinners Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav will be hoping for a rain-free day so that they get to flex their muscles in front of an inexperienced batting line-up.
The West Indies batting line-up with the likes of Evin Lewis (15 ODIs), Kieran Powell (38 ODIs), Shai Hope (14 ODIs) and Jason Mohammed (12 ODIs) may find it difficult to resist the formidable Indian bowling.
The Jason Holder-led West Indies clearly struggled with their bowling in the rain-affected game and will have to come up with something special to combat the in-form India side.
Pacer Holder, medium-pacer Alzarri Joseph and leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo were amongst the wickets and will now be looking to improve their line and length in the coming game.
Squads:
India: Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant, Virat Kohli (captain), Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, M.S. Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ajinkya Rahane, Kuldeep Yadav, Dinesh Karthik
West Indies: Evin Lewis, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope (wicketkeeper), Kesrick Williams, Jason Mohammed, Jonathan Carter, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (captain), Ashley Nurse, Alzarri Joseph, Devendra Bishoo, Roston Chase, Miguel Cummins
