The India vs West Indies T20 World Cup at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium starts at 7 PM IST (13:30 hours GMT). In T20 World Cups, West Indies have a 2-1 win-loss record against India. India qualified for the semi-final round after a tough run in the Group 2, wherein they suffered an embarrassing defeat to New Zealand in the first match by 47 runs.Two teams have won three and lost one in the Group Stages of the tournament. An exciting contest is on the cards as two star-studded contest lock horns in what promises to be a run-feast.
This is the penultimate game of this tournament. The ICC world twenty20. India being the host will have enormous support, then again I have yet to see a venue where India is playing and do not have enough support. Rather at places even outside India the men in blue enjoy the support like home, Such is the craze we Indians have for this game and this team, cricket is like a religion and it probably keep us integrated. India have great chance of winning the semi-final against the West Indies, with all due respect to the Chris gayle and co. For me it’s an eighty-twenty thing. Worst can happen for India is if they are defending any total because no total is big enough for the mighty West Indies. Specially the dew can come into play and that’s the only hitch according to me. As we all cricket lovers know it’s never easy to defend at the wankhede, dew makes it even worse for the bowling side. It’s difficult to hold the wet ball, no alibis but it is genuinely hard to grip the ball. Anyway we are expected to do well no matter what when representing the country, The toss is again going to be crucial, expect any side winning it and fielding first. No surprises!! All the best team India
West Indies Opt to Bowl
Teams:
West Indies (Playing XI): Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons, Denesh Ramdin(w), Dwayne Bravo, Andre Russell, Darren Sammy(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Samuel Badree, Sulieman Benn
India (Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli, Manish Pandey, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ashish Nehra, Jasprit Bumrah
Dhoni: “We were looking to bowl first as well. There maybe dew later on but you can put the opposition under pressure with a big score. We haven’t quite been at our best. That gives you the hope that once we start firing on all cylinders, it will be difficult for others to match us. This is one wicket that has something for everyone. Not the biggest boundaries and you can freely play your shots. As far as the atmosphere is concerned, it’s hard to go beyond the Wankhede stadium.”
Sammy: “We are going to bowl first. As I have said from the beginning, we came here for a mission. It’s going to be a tough game today but one that we are prepared for. Gayle comes in for Lewis. Simmons comes in for Fletcher. There is the belief in the team that we came here to win. We came here to win and before the tournament we said that we have to beat India at home. After India, probably the second favourite team would be us. So it’s okay playing India at home. We are ready for the challenge.”
