India finish their tour of the West Indies on Sunday when the two sides meet in a single T20 international in Jamaica. India go into the match off the back of winning the ODI series but the home side are the world champions in this format so the two sides should be move evenly matched here.
West Indies
This isn’t the West Indies side which won that tournament in India last year but there are some big names back who never played in the ODI series that will automatically make the Caribbean men much stronger. With the Caribbean Premier League on the horizon, West Indies have the chance to build the frenzy here.
I always think West Indies are strong with the ball in any format but especially in this one and with their key men back they are going to be much stronger with the bat too so I expect them to put up a formidable challenge on a ground which historically they have always performed well at in all formats.
India
While India are a real force in the 50 over format they can be known to flatter to deceive in this format especially away from home. Their batsmen aren’t as aggressive on their travels and their bowlers can take a while to get up to speed. The latter shouldn’t be a problem here as they have just had four bowling performances.
It will be interesting to see what sort of line up India go in with here. They brought a couple of youngsters out on this tour with them and as yet Rishabh Pant hasn’t been seen. Although this is a mundane match with no real context every match India play in is amped up and magnified to more than it should be.
Team News
Those big names returning for the West Indies are local man Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Carlos Brathwaite while Marlon Samuels is back for this match too.
India may well decide now is the time to bring Pant into their side. The other decisions they have is whether to play Ashwin or Jadeja and whether to go with Umesh Yadav or Mohammad Shami.
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Betting
I think the West Indies will win this match. I think they are much better suited to this format of the game. I think their bowling attack is perfect for it and they basically have seven hitters in their line up who can all win a match on their own. India may not go without a fight but at this stage of a tour the plane home gets a lot more attention than it otherwise might so I’ll go with the focused home side who need to win to give their public something to appreciate.
I can’t believe the sixes line in this match. There were five sixes in the ODI here on Thursday in what wasn’t exactly a high scoring match so a line of 8.5 sixes for this T20 makes little sense especially when you factor in the hitting power that is returning for the home side. India won’t lack for it either so I have to be on the overs of that.
I’ll take a chance on Hardik Pandya top scoring for India in this match. I wouldn’t think they would shove him up the order but you never truly know but even if they don’t the likes of Samuel Badree and Jerome Taylor are well versed in taking early wickets and Sunil Narine can keep things in check. The match might get set up for a Pandya cameo which might well be enough to top score. At 22/1 we can afford to pay to find out.
Tips
WON – Back West Indies to win T20 International for a 4/10 stake at 2.50 with Boylesports
Back them here:
WON – Back 9 or more sixes for a 5/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back it here:
VOID – Back H.Pandya Top India Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 23.00 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
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