Kolkata:
After white-washing the ODI series against West Indies, Rohit Sharma led-Team India is all set to lock horns with the visitors in first T20 in Kolkata.
India skipper won the toss and chose to field first against West Indies and said that his side will eye on Australia and thus, they will play with the best of their potential.
“Looks like we are going to bowl first here. I don’t want to comment on the pitch as it has played differently every time we have come here. (Bowling first) gives us a score in mind and how to approach the second half. We have to prepare ourselves with one eye on Australia. We have to keep ticking the boxes and that’s been the message to the guys. We have played really well as a team but those little moments in the game is what we have to try and seize. ,” said India white-ball captain Rohit Sharma.
“Gives us a perfect opportunity to play a quality side like West Indies. They are going to challenge us, so let’s see what we can come up with. We are playing with five batters, one all rounder and two spinners, Ravi Bishnoi is making his debut. We have got three seamers and few of those guys can bat as well. Yes (Ishan is opening),” he added.
WI captain Kieron Pollard kept hit presentation short and said, “The toss is 50-50. We try to stay in the present. Body is good. Had a niggle in my left knee, worked with the physio in the gym and let’s see what happens tonight. We try to stay in the present, what happened in the weekend is done and dusted. We had a conversation about it, happy for the guys who are selected but business on hand now is to represent the West Indies. This is where it counts in international cricket and lot of these guys are looking for opportunities. We were going with the same XI (as the 5th T20I against England) but we have one forced change; Jason Holder misses out, he got hit in practice yesterday while working on his skills and he hasn’t recovered, Roston Chase gets an opportunity. We have to assess the conditions and see what the pitch has to offer.”
Teams:
West Indies
(Playing XI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(w), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard(c), Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Fabian Allen, Sheldon Cottrell
India
(Playing XI): Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma(c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(w), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal
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