West Indies win toss and opt to field against India in 1st ODI; Jadeja ruled out due to knee injury
Shikhar Dhawan became the seventh skipper to lead India this year during the three-match ODI series against the Men in Maroon.
Port of Spain [Trinidad ], July 22 (ANI): West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and opted to field against India in the first ODI of the three-match series, here at Queen’s Park Oval on Friday.
Shikhar Dhawan became the seventh skipper to lead India this year during the three-match ODI series against the Men in Maroon. All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the first two ODI matches against West Indies after he sustained a knee injury.
“Team India all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has sustained an injury to his right knee and has been ruled out of the first two ODIs against West Indies. The BCCI Medical team is monitoring his progress and a decision on his participation in the third ODI will be taken accordingly,” tweeted BCCI.
Speaking at the toss, Pooran said, “We are gonna have a bowl first. There’s weather around and there will be help for the bowlers early on, hopefully, we will make use of it. It’s a nice feeling, better feeling to win the toss, very happy to be here in front of my home ground. We spoke about it, batting in partnerships, gaining momentum, it’s been tough for us, but we are up for the challenge. Every game we will try to improve. Unfortunately, Jason [Holder] has Covid so he misses out. It’s pretty much the same guys who played in the series against Bangladesh.”
On the other hand, India skipper Shikhar Dhawan said, “We were thinking of batting second, the weather looks like it will rain later on and the wicket is sticky but we are happy to bat first. I’m a very cool captain and like to guide the team, I will love to take the right decision but importantly make sure the process is right, we are focussing on the process and make sure we get the right result. It’s complimentary, so much talent in the country due to our domestic cricket and the IPL. The boys got a lot of exposure, it’s a great opportunity for all to showcase our talent. There’s Surya, Shreyas, Sanju all the boys are quite good – even myself (smiles). Lots of fans come from overseas to support us, we always like playing here in the Caribbean, the guys are really looking forward to it.”
West Indies Playing XI: Shai Hope(w), Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(c), Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales.
India Playing XI: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson(w), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna. (ANI)
