After emerging victorious in the opener, India take on West Indies as Nicholas Pooran-led side won the toss and elected to bat first in the second ODI at the Queen's Park Oval on Sunday (July 24).
Meanwhile, Avesh Khan, who took 42 wickets in the previous two IPL editions, has made ODI debut for India.
“I feel it's a good wicket. It gets slower and offers some turn. After the last game's experience we wanted to bat first again. We gave few runs in the field. We are well prepared and looking forward for a good game. Siraj and Prasidh bowled well, I am sure we are going to do much better today. Prasidh Krishna is out and Avesh Khan comes in - he is making his ODI debut today,” India skipper Shikhar Dhawan said before the match.
“I am going to bat first, it's the same wicket. Anything over 250 will be challenging here. We need to build partnerships, we need to show up again and do the same thing again. One forced change, Motie is out - Hayden Walsh is in. If he (Hope) scores it's fine, if he doesn't the other batters can chip in,” West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran said after winning the toss.
However India survived West Indies' scare in the first outing as the Nicholas Pooran-led side nearly chased down India's 309-run target but fell just short of 3 runs to lose the issue.
Jason Holder getting COVID-19 essentially rules him out of the entire series so finding the right balance is the key for West Indies. With not many options at their disposal, they could likely stick with the same XI or draft in Keemo Paul in place of one of the left-arm spinners.
Pitch report:
“The ground has lived up to its reputation of being a high-scoring one. It's the same pitch and looks the same. There might be some work done but batters should enjoy it. It's Sunday, so people should come in droves given how close the last game was. The weather looks great as well,” Samuel Badree analyses the Queen's Park Oval's pitch.
India's Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Siraj, Avesh Khan.
West Indies' Playing XI: Shai Hope (wk), Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(c), Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh, Jayden Seales.
