The first ODI between India and the West Indies was a very entertaining affair and while India drew first blood there was enough to suggest that they might not have everything their own way when the two sides meet for the second match of the five in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
West Indies should take plenty of heart from the opening game and will aim to win this second ODI to level up the series. Were India to go on and win this one too they would be in complete command going two up with three to play.
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India
Clearly it wasn’t a perfect first outing for India in the opening match but they got the job done and no team should ever be criticised for winning. I would imagine that India will be quite pleased that they have things to improve on as a five match series could be a long time to maintain their best stuff if everything was perfect from the opening game.
I think we almost take for granted that India will go well with the bat, and in these conditions they probably will, but they have an issue after Virat Kohli in their order which they will want to sort out prior to the World Cup. They need their seamers to step up and deliver the goods even if it is the second string as they do look light in that department when Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah don’t play.
West Indies
I think most people were surprised with how well West Indies went with the bat in that opening match. That isn’t because their talent was unknown or anything like that but more rather that they had been shot out twice in the Test matches. They were more than competitive though and you get the feeling there is even more to come from them with the bat too which will be encouraging for them.
Where they need to improve is with the ball. They just could not get into this Indian line up in the first game and I would be surprised if they find any helpful pitches as we go along. That means they are either going to need to rely on raw pace or find some bowlers who have a bit of mystery to them, to slow India down if nothing else.
Team News
Unless they want to bring Kuldeep Yadav back into their side, India could be unchanged from the first outing. If they do bring him back it could be one of the seamers who pays the price with all three of them expensive in Guwahati.
West Indies might want to change their bowling attack as well to find some more dynamic options. The seamers they had all generally went around the park. Obed McCoy’s left arm option could be the first thing they utilise.
Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium
This will be the eighth ODI to be staged on this ground and India have a wonderful record here it must be said. They have won six of the seven matches they have played here and lost just the one. West Indies have featured in two matches on the ground and they have beaten India in one of them and lost the other one.
The previous matches here have generally had high scoring first innings but the second innings have been tougher fayres. Spin could come into play the longer the match wears on another the dew might become an issue at some point.
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Betting
They say don’t change a winning tactic and I’m not going to do that here. The boundaries bet cruised in for me in the first match and although the line has moved up to 57.5 I’m not convinced that is nearly high enough either given what we saw in the opening ODI.
That match had 88 boundaries in it and the size of this ground is no real difference to the one they played on in that first game. We know by now that Indian outfields are all lightning fast and we saw in Guwahati that neither of these bowling attacks are much cop. I’m expecting to see at least another 58 boundaries in this match.
Tips
WON – Back Over 57.5 boundaries for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with William Hill
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