Deadline: August 8, 2019 at 7 PM IST
Venue: Providence Stadium, Guyana
Pitch report
Shimron Hetmyer smacked 125 off 93 the last time an ODI was played at the Providence Stadium. In other words, it is a belter of track. We anyway witnessed Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant accumulate runs with ease on Sunday, in the final T20I. That said, it has some movement at the start for the fast bowlers. Bowling in the corridor of uncertainty should keep the batsmen quiet.
Match prediction
Rain is forecasted for the entire week in Guyana. Batting first is, without any iota of doubt, wise. The DLS changes the dynamics of the game in the second innings. Here’s a fantasy tip: given the weather forecast and average scores at the venue, have more batsmen from the team batting first.
India are ranked No. 2 in ICC ODI Rankings, while West Indies are trying to scramble at the 9th position. The match prediction is no brainer: given India’s recent form as well as team combination, they have the upper hand.
Expect a high-scoring contest if India bat first. Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma are the top two batsmen in the format, and the comeback of Shikhar Dhawan – who scored a hundred in his last ODI – has further strengthened their line-up.
If West Indies bat first, you don’t know how much will they post. Their batsmen have been surprisingly struggling, especially against India. If they do bat first, make sure you have at least three Indian bowlers in your fantasy team.
Team news
Chris Gayle, the self-proclaimed Universe Boss, is back. He had planned to retire after the 2019 World Cup but decided otherwise. The struggling Evin Lewis can take a backseat now.
Roston Chase could not make it to the World Cup squad despite scoring a crucial fifty in the Ireland Tri-Nation series. His inclusion sparks the much needed stability in the middle-order.
Shai Hope wasn’t a part of the T20I squad. He, however, could not be left out of ODIs, the format in which he has been the team’s best batsman for some time now.
Probable XI for West Indies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Roston Chase, Jason Holder (c), Carlos Brathwaite, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas, Kemar Roach
India’s spin duo will be back in action, if the pitch has rough patches. India otherwise would go for Navdeep Saini to form a three-man pace attack with Mohammad Shami and Bhuvneshwar Kumar.
Probable XI for India: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohammad Shami, Kuldeep Yadav/Navdeep Saini, Yuzvendra Chahal
NOTE: Pick your fantasy cricket team wisely.
Players to watch out for
West Indies are Rohit Sharma’s favourite team to score runs against, having scored 1,237 runs at 61.8. However, so stunning has his form been in 2019 that he has smashed 6 hundreds this year – 5 of which came in the World Cup.
When West Indies toured India last year, Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer were among runes. While Hope steadied the innings, Hetmyer’s 259 runs came with a strike rate of 140.
In the same series, Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the visitors, taking 9 wickets in 3 matches.
Also, get to know the tips & tricks on how to play fantasy cricket