TAROUBA: West Indies captain Rovman Powell won the toss and opted to bat against India in the opening T20I of the five-match series here at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Thursday.
Earlier, India wrapped up a 2-1 series victory in the three-match ODI series against West Indies after suffering a defeat in the second 50-50. In the series decider, the host lost to India with a big margin of 200 runs.
Two youngsters Tilak Varma and Mukesh Kumar are making their T20I debuts for Team India.
Speaking at the time of toss, West Indies captain Rovman Powell said, “We are gonna bat. Looks like a dry surface. India are playing a lot of spinners, let’s see how we cope against them. The guys are confident. It’s not a complete change in strategy. We are still boundary hitters, we are trying to run hard. We have gone with our strengths.”
India captain Hardik Pandya said, “That was the whole plan for this tour as well. We might be coming here to play the World Cup. Some players might get a chance to play here. By the time we come here next time, we’ll be prepared. I try to keep things simple. For me it’s about improving. I focus on processes. You might have some losses and failures, I am okay with it. It’s all about challenging ourselves. Umran, Bishnoi miss out. We are playing three spinners.”
West Indies (Playing XI): Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Johnson Charles(w), Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell(c), Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph and Obed McCoy.
India (Playing XI): Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan(w), Suryakumar Yadav, Tilak Varma, Hardik Pandya(c), Sanju Samson, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Arshdeep Singh and Mukesh Kumar. (ANI)