CWC 2019: IND vs WI Preview – Disheartened West Indies face Indian juggernaut
West Indies’ journey in this World Cup has been full of varying emotions. They began the tournament in style by skittling Pakistan cheaply but since then the Caribbean side is yet to celebrate a win. Carlos Brathwaite smashed a miraculous ton at the Old Trafford to almost pull off a sensational win in the last match, but he was denied at the boundary ropes by Trent Boult. The side on losing spree now faces India at the same venue.
India are yet to lose a match in this World Cup. The Men in Blue have conquered every opposition that has come their way. They have been the most dominating side in the tournament, despite a few setbacks. The injuries to Shikhar Dhawan and Bhuvneshwar Kumar have not affected the performance of Virat Kohli and his men. The poor form of middle-order remains a concern. It almost costed them against Afghanistan, but the bowlers were strong enough to pull off a win. It will be one aspect that India will seek to improve against West Indies.
With only one win from six games, West Indies are just a loss away from getting knocked out of the tournament. Even if they win all their remaining games, their chances depend on other results. A win for India takes them one step closer to the semi-finals. They need two wins from their remaining four matches to seal a spot in the top-four.
Match Info
India vs West Indies, 34th Match
Old Trafford, Manchester (03:00 PM IST)
Head-to-Head
In eight World Cup encounters, India leads West Indies by 5-3. Of course, their most heroic and most memorable victory was in the 1983 World Cup final where India pulled of one of the greatest upsets. The Asian team has dominated the Caribbean side in their last three meetings and is unbeaten since 1992.
Team News
India
The fans expected the Indian team management to make a few changes and test their bench strength against Afghanistan before they faced higher-ranked teams. However, India played with a full-strength side. The only change in the team was a forced one as Mohammad Shami replaced injured Bhuvneshwar Kumar. India are likely to go unchanged unless an injury strikes.
West Indies
West Indies received an enormous blow as the all-rounder Andre Russell was ruled out of the World Cup due to his persistent knee injury. Sunil Ambris, an opening batsman, will take his place in the squad. Evin Lewis, who is also battling an injury, batted at number eight in the last match. West Indies can draft in Darren Bravo in the middle order to add stability to the batting unit.
Key Players
Virat Kohli (India): World’s number one ODI batsman has scored three consecutive fifties in the World Cup but there are still cries about his non-performance. Virat averages 70.76 from his 31 matches against West Indies and had struck three consecutive centuries versus them in the home ODI series. Another century against them in this game will do enough to shut down the criticism.
Shai Hope (West Indies): The most reliable West Indian batsman has scored two half-centuries in the World Cup but is yet to register a three-figure score. With the side in crisis, this will be a perfect opportunity for Shai Hope to raise his game. He already an ODI ton against India which was scored last year.
Probable XI
India: KL Rahul, R Sharma, V Kohli (c), V Shankar, MS Dhoni (wk), K Jadhav, H Pandya, M Shami, K Yadav, J Bumrah, Y Chahal
West Indies: C Gayle, S Hope (wk), D Bravo, N Pooran, S Hetmyer, J Holder (c), C Brathwaite, A Nurse, K Roach, S Cottrell, O Thomas
