Guwahati, Sep 29 (IANS): India will step onto the field of a happy-hunting Barsapara Cricket Stadium as they look to win the three-match series against the West Indies on Wednesday.
A special Virat Kohli show led the Indian team to chase down 297 against the Windies in Thiruvananthapuram, while captain Shubman Gill also hit a marvellous ton. Kuldeep Yadav was the star with the ball as he made crucial strikes in his 4-40 spell to play a key role in the win.
The Men in Blue return to Guwahati with happy memories. They have won both of their ODIs at the venue, and their talismans Kohli and Rohit Sharma have smashed centuries. Kohli hit tons in both of those games, while Rohit also smashed one century and a half-century in one of those.
It is the venue where all four innings have seen scores in excess of 300, as bowlers from both teams will be under the pump once again after being meted out a punishing treatment in the opener at the Greenfield International Stadium.
Kohli put the Windies bowlers to the sword with his unbeaten 139 from 88 balls, while Gill starred with a 108-ball 110. Rohit had also looked positive with his 32 from 35 deliveries.
The Windies batters also made the Indian bowlers toil as John Campbell made 62 from 60 balls while opening the innings and Justin Greaves scored 101 from 108 deliveries. The visitors were firing on all cylinders and were 135/0 after 19 overs before the Men in Blue applied the brakes, with Kuldeep leading the charge with a stellar bowling display.
Nitish Kumar Reddy took a beating as he gave 1-45, while debutant Naman Dhir conceded 0-33 in his five. Gurnoor Brar remained wicketless in his 10 overs for 60 runs, but Kuldeep was the one who pulled things back.
It remains to be seen whether the Indian management will make changes to the bowling attack, as Mohammed Siraj and Auqib Nabi were the bowlers to be benched for the previous game.
There can be a case for giving game time to Dhruv Jurel, while there can be a temptation to play Yashasvi Jaiswal too, as India look to bag the series.
When: Wednesday, September 30, 2:00 PM IST
Where: Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati
Where to watch: The match will be shown live on the Star Sports Network and live-streamed on the JioHotstar app and website.
Squads:
India Squad: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill(c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul(w), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Auqib Nabi, Dhruv Jurel
West Indies Squad: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope(w/c), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes
