WI vs IND 1st ODI Match Prediction

WI vs IND Team Previews

West Indies

The last few years haven’t been the best for West Indies as far as the ODI format is concerned. Firstly, the team missed out on a direct qualification to the ODI World Cup through the Super League and then squandered another chance to book a ticket to India via the Qualifiers held in Zimbabwe earlier this year.

The team must now focus on rebuilding the team, and the first step begins through this series.

West Indies has made some changes to the Test squad and brought in some more firepower to take on the in-form Indian team. Shai Hope will lead the squad which has a mix of established and rookie batsmen like Rovman Powell, Alick Athanaze, and Brandon King. Shimron Hetmeyer, who hasn’t played an international ODI since July 2021, makes a comeback on the back of his strong performance in the IPL.

Shai Hope has scored 377 runs in his last nine matches while Brandon King has scored 436 runs in his previous nine. If both of them are able to get set, they could open the doors for late-order hitters like Shimron Hetmyer to make a real impact.

All-rounder Gudakesh Motie will get a chance too after recovering from an injury. West Indies has strengthened its pace attack by bringing in Oshane Thomas and Jayden Seales. They will feature alongside Dominic Drakes, Alzarri Joseph, and Romario Shepherd.

The spin attack consists of Yannic Cariah and Kevin Sinclair. 

This is a World Cup Year and every 50-Over match will be seen as being important. The fact the West Indies has not managed to make it could spur it on to prove a point. Expect the intensity to rise for the West Indies even though they have struggled in the 50-Over format for a fair bit of time now. 

India

After dominating West Indies in the Test series, India will hope to do the same in the limited overs format.

The Indian team has retained much of its core team for the ODI series and will hope that the players will perform well. Rohit Sharma will lead the team and is likely to open the batting along with Shubman Gill. Both of them scored fluently in the second Test and look in good touch. Virat Kohli too scored a century in the first inning and will play an important role in the number 3 slot.

Gill is averaging 78 in his previous nine matches while Virat Kohli is averaging close to 60.

As far as ODI cricket goes, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are still among the best batters in the world and we would not write off one or even both of thema dding centuries to their tally. Shubman gill has also taken to this format like a fish to water.

Ishan Kishan will most likely find a place in the playing XI, alongside Suryakumar Yadav, while all-rounders Hardik Pandya and Ravindra Jadeja will add depth to the batting. This batting depth that the Indian team posseses is world-class.

Coming to the bowling, Mohammed Siraj will head the pace attack along with Umran Malik and Shardul Thakur, while Yuzvendra Chahal is likely to make the cut ahead of Kuldeep Yadav. The experience that Siraj has garnered in recent times is invaluable but the likes of Malik and Thakur will need to work hard. 

Chahal will relish going up against a West Indian team that struggles to face spin. If Kuldeep Yadav plays then he should be on your radar to pick up wickets because that is what he does with an incredible consistency even if he is a bit expensive.