India Eye 8th Straight ODI Series Win Over West Indies

Guwahati: The BCCI announced the team that will be taking field in the first ODI between against Windies in Guwahati on Sunday.

The Virat Kohli-led side will include white-ball specialists like Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan at the top of the order.

Spinner Ravindra Jadeja retains his spot in the ODI, after his strong show in Asia Cup and all-round display against Windies.

Fast bowler Khaleel Ahmed too has been given another go in the upcoming match. Whether or not he makes it to the playing XI on the day of the match, will only be revealed on Sunday.

Returning to the side was Virat Kohli, which meant KL Rahul was out again.

The Windies, who were blanked 2-0 in a little under six days in the 2-Test series, will hope to compete better in the limited overs leg of their tour of India.

Shimron Hetmyer top-scored in the previous series against Bangladesh with 207 runs in three matches and was also in great batting form during the CPL 2018. The fascinating batsman scored 440 runs in CPL and almost single-handedly lead Guyana to the finals.

Shai Hope hope is another danger man in the team, who has the potential to score big and was among top 10 run scorers in recently concluded CPL with 288 runs. In the absence of some big names like Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, it's up to these two to get the team to a competitive total.

Jason Holder form was one of few positives in the Test series for the West Indies. The Windies skipper claimed a five-wicket haul in the second Test. In the home series against Bangladesh, he had claimed four wickets in three matches. The skipper will need to lead from the front and scalp some wickets upfront.

Teams

India (from XII): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (Captain), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Umesh Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Khaleel Ahmed.

West Indies (from): Sunil Ambris, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Marlon Samuels, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder(c), Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach, Fabian Allen, Obed McCoy, Oshane Thomas, Chandrapaul Hemraj

Pitch and conditions:
It should be warm and sunny in Guwahati. As for the wicket, there should be something in it for quicks

Stats and trivia:

• The India-Windies series opener will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, which will be hosting its first-ever ODI; it will become the 46th venue in India to host an ODI.
• West Indies have never been whitewashed in an ODI series in India

Match facts
Sunday, 21 October 2018
Start time: 13:30 local (08:00 GMT)