Big picture
After Ireland toppled West Indies 2-1 in the ODI series in the Caribbean, Kieron Pollard's men rallied to beat England 3-2 in the T20I series that followed. This, despite the absence of Shimron Hetmyer, who has been left out on fitness grounds and Evin Lewis, who is yet to return to action post-Covid.Hetmyer and Lewis aren't part of the white-ball squads for the India tour, too, so this is another chance for West Indies' emerging players and comeback men to catch the attention of the national selectors and the IPL scouts, with the auction scheduled to be held on February 12 and 13.
Among the emerging players are Odean Smith, Romario Shepherd, a Covid-19 recovered Fabian Allen, and Brandon King. After enjoying a breakout CPL 2021 with Guyana Amazon Warriors, Smith teed off in the T10 league and more recently for West Indies in white-ball cricket at home. Allen has shown sparks of brilliance in West Indies colours, but is yet to fire like he has in the CPL.
King, Smith's team-mate at Amazon Warriors, is back in the ODI mix, as is Kemar Roach. Shepherd is another big-hitting allrounder that the CPL threw up, but he is still learning the ropes at the international level.
Much like West Indies' squad, India's is in flux as well, with four players testing positive for Covid-19. KL Rahul will also miss the series opener because of family commitments; as a result, Mayank Agarwal and Ishan Kishan have been drafted into the main squad. India will be bolstered further by the return of a fit-again Rohit Sharma and Washington Sundar.
Wristspinners Ravi Bishnoi, who is uncapped in international cricket, and Kuldeep Yadav have also been brought in to address the lack of wicket-taking threat in the middle overs, something that severely hamstrung India in South Africa. With no Chris Gayle or Lewis or Hetmyer, the wristspinners could play a substantial role against a potentially right-hander laden West Indies line-up.
There isn't much to seperate India and West Indies on the World Cup Super League points table as well. India have 49 points from nine games and West Indies have 50 points, although they've had the benefit of playing three more Super League ODIs.
Form guide
(Last five completed matches; most recent first)India: WWWWL
West Indies: LLWLW
Aakash Chopra picks his India XI
In the spotlight
Ishan Kishan brings with him a no-holds barred batting approach, a departure from India's previous approach that prioritised safety. In the illness-enforced absence of Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, Kishan will be looking to show his range, something that the IPL is familiar with, and stake his claim for a longer run in India's white-ball sides.Akeal Hosein ditched wristspin, the more glamorous variety of spin, to become West Indies' frontline fingerspinner who regularly fronts up to take the new ball. While he is largely seen as a restrictive bowler in T20s, he can give it a rip on helpful pitches. He can also tonk sixes lower down the order, as he showed in the second T20Is against England last month. He has also had a taste of the IPL, having been a net bowler with Kolkata Knight Riders last year.
Team news
With Agarwal still undergoing mandatory quarantine, India captain Rohit confirmed that Kishan would open the batting along with him on Sunday. On the bowling front, Kuldeep is likely reunite with Yuzvendra Chahal. India might have to make a choice between Deepak Hooda and Washington for the allrounder role.India: (probable) 1 Rohit Sharma (capt), 2 Ishan Kishan, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Rishabh Pant (wk), 5 Suryakumar Yadav, 6 Deepak Hooda/Washington Sundar, 7 Deepak Chahar, 8 Shardul Thakur, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Yuzvendra Chahal, 11 Prasidh Krishna
King will likely tussle with Nkrumah Bonner for a top-order slot. Darren Bravo provides a left-handed middle-order option, although he hasn't played an ODI since July 2021. Roach is set to play his first ODI in more than two years.
West Indies: (probable) 1 Shai Hope (wk), 2 Brandon King/Nkrumah Bonner, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Shamarh Brooks, 5 Darren Bravo, 6 Kieron Pollard (capt), 7 Odean Smith/Romario Shepherd, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Akeal Hosein, 10 Kemar Roach, 11 Hayden Walsh Jr.
Pitch and conditions
England and India played out a high-scoring T20I series the last time the Motera staged international cricket, around this time last year in 2021. The pitch might favour the batters once again although the bigger boundaries could challenge their power-hitting. Dew could be a factor later in the evening. The weather is expected to be fine for the duration of the game.Stats and trivia
- Sunday's ODI will be India's 1000th. They will be the first side to reach the mark in the format.
- Yuzvendra Chahal needs one wicket to get to 100 strikes in ODI cricket. He will be the ninth Indian spinner to reach the milestone after Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh, Ravindra Jadeja, Sachin Tendulkar, R Ashwin, Ravi Shastri, Yuvraj Singh and Kuldeep.
- West Indies have played 58 ODIs against India in India, losing 29 and winning 28.
- This will be the first ODI at Motera in more than seven years.
Deivarayan Muthu is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
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