Karthik, Krunal steer India home in nervous chase

Catch the ball-by-ball commentary of the first T20I between host India and visitor Windies in Kolkata on Sunday.

India will be looking at its current No. 2 ranking in the ICC list to fire itself up for the challenge.

 

Playing XI:

India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shikhar Dhawan, Lokesh Rahul, Rishabh Pant, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, K Khaleel Ahmed, Umesh Yadav.

Windies : Rovman Powell, Darren Bravo, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite (c), Keemo Paul, Fabian Allen, Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas.

TOSS: India elects to field.

Hello and welcome to Sportstarlive's coverage of the first T20I between host India and visitor Windies at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

With Virat Kohli rested ahead of the bigger battles Down Under, India’s stand-in skipper Rohit Sharma will have the task getting India’s record better against the Windies. The scale of success tilts heavily in favour of Carlos Brathwaite-led side, which has won five out of its eight clashes against India. The latter has only two wins to its credit while one match was abandoned. India will be looking at its current No. 2 ranking in the ICC list to fire itself up for the challenge.

READ: India switches to T20I mode without Dhoni

The Eden crowd, apart from Kohli will also miss M.S. Dhoni who has not been picked for the T20Is. His absence gives Rishabh Pant a chance to prove his credentials. In the final-12 team announced for the first T20I, Pant will be behind the stumps with Dinesh Karthik also there to bolster the team’s middle order. Krunal Pandya may get a look in ahead of Yuzvendra Chahal. The three-match T20I series gives a chance to Shikhar Dhawan and K.L. Rahul to find some form with the bat.

Squads:

India:  Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, K.L. Rahul, Dinesh Karthik, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Khaleel Ahmed, Yuzvendra Chahal (12th).

West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Keemo Paul, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Oshane Thomas, Khary Pierre, Obed McCoy, Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran.