West Indies and India have concluded their ODI series which was a lot more competitive than most expected and now they begin a five match T20 series in Trinidad on Friday, a set of matches which will allow both to continue their preparations for the T20 World Cup.
West Indies are seen as one of the top dogs in this format of the game but had a horror show in the World Cup last year so have a bit to prove this time around. India haven’t got their hands on the World T20 title since 2007 and will be eager to end that record.
West Indies
Over the course of the last decade West Indies have been a dominating force in T20 cricket but a lot of the players who guided them to the summit of the game have moved on now and a younger team is preparing to pick up the baton and run with it. Conditions in Australia should suit West Indies when they get to the World Cup so initially it is all about making sure they pick the right players and getting them prepared and up to speed.
If there was one thing in particular which stalled West Indies in the previous World Cup it was the inability to rotate the strike. They will need to come up with the way to do that for the next one because the grounds in Australia are such that they can’t just rely on smashing everything for six. There are a younger crop of batters coming into the side though so you would imagine that will naturally happen. One thing West Indies have which a lot of teams don’t have is great death bowling options.
India
India go into this T20 series off the back of three different series over the last six weeks or so. They picked up a 2-2 draw at home against South Africa before heading to Ireland where they came out on top and then they confirmed that they are in a good place when they won 2-1 in England. They will be looking to continue that good recent form over these five matches but more importantly they will be out to fine tune some combinations.
Their success in recent times has come through their bowlers. Twice they restricted England to meagre totals when the series was alive and they also got to grips with South Africa in the end. They have a real depth in bowling options but we’ve seen in the last few weeks that their second string batters are more than up to the job. India are building a big pool of players but how many places are open in the T20 World Cup squad remains to be seen.
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Team News
West Indies have Shimron Hetmyer back for this series after he passed a fitness test but there is still no Evin Lewis so Kyle Mayers is likely to continue to open the batting. Dominic Drakes will be looking to force his way in after appearing for Yorkshire at the Vitality Blast finals day.
India have Rohit Sharma back after he sat out the ODI series but they are continuing to rest Virat Kohli and Jasprit Bumrah. Hardik Pandya is back in the fold for this series with Dinesh Karthik expected to keep his new finishing position.
Betting
This isn’t the highest scoring ground in the world, which is ironic when it carries the name of Brian Lara one of the best to ever pick a bat up, and I think both teams have attacks who will suit the conditions that they will face here so I’m not expecting a high scoring opening game of the series. In their last seven competitive T20 internationals they have only conceded 150 more than once and that was when Ireland were chancing their arm so they are in a good groove with the ball.
India found it relatively easy to get the job done with the bat in the ODI series but I don’t think they’ll find it quite as easy in this format of the game with West Indies having useful death bowlers in the form of Odean Smith and Obed McCoy in particular. You would have to say there isn’t a huge amount of depth in terms of genuine batting in this side and I’m not sure this is the ground for someone to swing to an insane cameo so I think the 329.5 runs line looks a little on the high side to me.
Tips
Back Under 329.5 runs for a 3/10 stake at 1.83 with Betway
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