cricket

Updated: Aug 08, 2019 08:25 IST

After clinching the T20I series 3-0, Team India take on Windies in the first match of the three-match ODI series at the Providence Stadium in Guyana on Thursday. The World Cup disappointment will continue to linger but skipper Virat Kohli will fancy his team’s chances in the series, notwithstanding the return of the swashbuckling Chris Gayle. This is the same venue which hosted the third T20I between the two teams and the start of the match was delayed due to rain. Same could be the case in the first ODI as according to AccuWeather, forecast shows showers in early parts of the day.

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India skipper Virat Kohli on Wednesday termed the three T20I series win with a margin of 3-0 against West Indies as “top win”. Kohli shared team’s victory picture with a caption, “Top win. Onto the odis now.” Shikhar Dhawan makes a comeback in the format where he has been India’s third best player after skipper Virat Kohli and his deputy Rohit Sharma.

With Kedar Jadhav expected to come in at No 5 or 6 depending on how Rishabh Pant is used as a floater, it will be a toss up between Manish Pandey and Shreyas Iyer for the remaining middle-order slots.

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With Bhuvneshwar Kumar playing three T20 Internationals in a week across two countries, he will probably get to cool his heels with Mohammed Shami leading the attack and Navdeep saini making his ODI debut.

Thoroughly outplayed in the shortest format, West Indies will hope the return of the talismanic Gayle bolsters them. Gayle during the World Cup had announced that the home series against India will be his last.