INDIA-WEST INDIES T20 SERIES BEGINS TODAY
Windies seek redemption as three-match T20 series begins today
Kolkata, Nov. 3: The ‘end of Dhoni era’ notion has been dismissed unequivocally but then India, for the first time, will still be without the figure with a monumental body of work when they face West Indies in the opening T20 International on Sunday.
Less than a week after two-time World Cup-winning skipper MS Dhoni was left out of India’s T20I squad, captain Virat Kohli has said he remains an integral part of India’s plans. Chief selector MSK Prasad also said that it was not the end of the road for Dhoni in T20Is. With Kohli rested for the three matches, Rohit Sharma will lead the side against the reigning T20 champions.
Under Jason Holder, West Indies were mauled 0-2 in the Test series in six days’ of action. In the following five-match ODI series, they posed some challenge before being thrashed 1-3 with a ninewicket loss in Thiruvananthapuram in the final one-dayer. But it will not be an easy task for India against the Carlos Brathwaite-led team as the two-month long series begin its final leg, giving the visitors a chance to regain some pride.
Brathwaite will be back at the same venue where he hit four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to break the hearts of English fans by winning their second World Twenty20 title in 2016. The Windies, who missed the big names in the Test and ODI series, will be bolstered by the arrival of star players Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Andre Russell, who will be back at his IPL home venue. The stats also favour the World T20 holders who have a five-two record from eight exchanges from 200917.
India failed to overcome Brathwaite’s men in their last four encounters and the Windies ended the home team’s campaign in the 2016 T20I World Cup, defeating them in the semi-finals in Mumbai. India’s last win against West Indies came way back on March 23, 2014 in the World T20 in Bangladesh, and Sharma will have his task cut out in his quest to start well at his happy hunting ground. — PTI