West Indies (WI) will be facing India (IND) in the first T20I match at Trinidad's Brian Lara Cricket Stadium, Tarouba on Thursday, August 3. India sealed off the ODI series 2-1 despite some struggles in the opening two matches and will now turn their focus to T20I cricket. Hardik Pandya will be leading the team with Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar in line to make their T20I debut in this series.
For the hosts, star wicketkeeper batter Nicholas Pooran and all-rounder Jason Holder return to the team after missing the ODI series due to their involvement in the MLC 2023. ODI team captain Shai Hope also makes his return to T20I cricket having last played in February 2022.
Match Details
Match: 1st T20I
Venue: Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad
Date & Time: August 3, 10:30 AM Local (Trinidad), 08:00 PM IST
Broadcast and Live Streaming: Doordarshan Network and JioCinema Website/App
WI vs IND Probable Playing XIs
West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shai Hope (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell (c), 7 Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph
India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan (wk), Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya (c), Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mukesh Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Umran Malik
WI vs IND Predictions
Best Batter of the Match: Nicholas Pooran
The star wicketkeeper batter missed the ODI series against India due to his involvement in the MLC 2023. He won the Player of the Tournament for scoring 388 runs at a strike rate of 167.24 where he smashed a match-winning knock of 137* off 55 in the final MI New York. Pooran has been in sensational form across formats this year and will be a key batter for his team in the upcoming game on Thursday.
Best Bowler of the Match: Arshdeep Singh
The left-arm pacer will be playing his first international match after the conclusion of IPL 2023 but was part of India's last T20Is against New Zealand in February. Arshdeep won the Player of the Series award when India last played T20Is against West Indies last year. He has taken 41 wickets in 26 T20Is at an impressive average of 17.78 and an economy rate of 8.39 so far. Arshdeep has taken seven T20I wickets against West Indies at an economy rate of 6.58.
Who will win the Match: India (IND)
