West Indies took a bit of a battering in the Test series against India over the last month or so but now they have the chance for revenge when they take on the same opposition in two T20 matches in Florida.
India might look upon this match with a revenge mindset too given that it was the West Indies who ended their own party in the semi-final of the World T20 earlier this year. India will know this is likely to be a much stronger opponent than the one they faced in the Tests.
West Indies
We know all about the prowess of this West Indies side in this format of the game. It suits their personalities and their culture and they have certainly embraced it to the full since the turn of the decade. They have twice won the World Cup in this format and even now they look fearsome.
The Caribbean men head into a new era in this match as they will be led by Carlos Brathwaite for the first time after the administrators decided to deal with Darren Sammy’s passionate speech after lifting the T20 World Cup by dropping him both as captain and from the side. How this side reacts to that will be interesting.
India
The script wasn’t for India to lose in the semi-final of their own tournament back in March but that is exactly what happened although as we saw for most of that event they were pretty unbelievable throughout so we certainly shouldn’t hold that against India.
I would imagine with T20 so huge in India that they will be equally as motivated to win this two match series as they were the Test series and certainly the squad they have announced for the games would very much suggest that is the case.
Team News
West Indies are forced into a change from that T20 World Cup final. Darren Sammy is out now but the replacement isn’t too bad in the shape of Kieron Pollard. Sunil Narine is fit and available for the opener as is Chris Gayle. It is pretty much the strongest squad West Indies want to pick.
India will have MS Dhoni back at the helm for this match. He takes the reins back from Virat Kohli who captained so well in the Test matches. Ravi Jadeja is likely to get a spot in the side and there should be a place for Mohammad Shami. Rohit Sharma moves back to the top of the order.
Betting
I’m never keen on betting on the outcome of T20 matches on small grounds at the best of times but that is even more the case when it is in a series with little or no meaning apart from the promotion of the game and the likely sizeable crowd in attendance. If I was choosing I’d go with the West Indies but it wouldn’t be with a huge amount of conviction.
One bet I do like with much more confidence is the sixes where the line is 13.5 which based on what we saw here in the Caribbean Premier League recently is far too low a line. With the aim of showcasing the game across America we can be fairly certain that the wicket will be excellent for batting and we know the boundaries here are pretty tiny.
With the hitting talent both sides head into this clash with I fully expect the boundaries to be battered throughout and that sixes line looks a few too low especially with the West Indies having every chance of covering it if they bat first.
Tips
WON – Back Over 13.5 sixes for a 4/10 stake at 2.10 with Coral
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