Team India springs back to action after the 2019 Cricket World Cup with a tour of West Indies starting August 3. The schedule which spans over a month will see Virat Kohli’s men play two T20Is, three ODIs and two Test matches. With a revamped squad and fresh legs, India will aim to re-build and start the second leg of the cricketing season with a flying start.

However, the opponent this time around is a charged-up Windies who have recalled Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine to arm themselves against any trick that the Men in Blue might try to pull. The Caribbean side have found a perfect mix of youth and experience with an eye at the T20 World Cup next year in Australia.

Windies resolve have only grown stronger post the World Cup and the Indian team might just face the most challenging tour of Windies in the past decade.

NOTHING TO LOSE

India start the tour as the favourites with better rankings as compared to Windies in all three formats. Given the participation of the Carribean players in T20 leagues across the globe, they have made a reputation of playing fearless cricket. Always on the hunt to score quick runs to give them an edge in the initial overs surely did wonders back in 2016 when they lifted the World T20 trophy in India.

Image courtesy: AFP/ Paul Ellis

Given the overall record between the two nations, Windies have won five of the 11 T20I matches with the highest team total of 245 coming back in 2016. With a dynamic and unflinching persona, their quality in the shortest format is indistinguishable and sets them apart from the rest. With players like Andre Russell, Pollard, Narine, Jason Holder and Carlos Brathwaite, the hosts will be waiting for the Indians on their shore with a domineering smile on their faces.

POWER HITTERS

Known for clearing boundaries at will, Windies batsman have an innate quality of tearing down any bowling opposition on the day. As India field a rather inexperienced bowling line-up except for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in T20Is, the Windies batsmen will lash out at any given chance. Brathwaite’s four sixes in the final of World T20 in India were clearly a testament to the abilities that their batsman possess.

Russell and Pollard have been continuously turning games on the head in the Indian T20 League, while the addition of Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope has given the Windies much-added depth in the batting squad. Hope’s performances in ODIs against India in 2018 included two match-saving performances of 123* and 95 which clearly spoke of his arrival at the big stage.

In the recently concluded World Cup, Nicholas Pooran, the rising star of Windies Cricket almost took his team home with a blistering knock of 118 against Sri Lanka. Although Mohammed Shami and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to make a comeback for the ODIs, that doesn’t draw one’s attention from the fact that Windies batting needs to be dealt with cautiously or the carnage will be beyond measure.

THE ACE OF PACE

It’s a delightful sight to witness the Windies pace attack coming back to life with bowlers like Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas leading the pace attack. With a combined 21 wickets in nine innings at the World Cup recently, Cottrell and Thomas terrorized the opening batsmen. This was evident in the match against Australia and New Zealand where they left the opposition reeling at 38/4 and 7/2 respectively.

Going with India’s history with pace, Cottrell and Thomas will be instrumental in containing the Indian batsmen. God forbid if they get rid of the top order, the Indian middle-order, comprising of Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey and Rishabh Pant, will face never-ending problems.

AN ‘ALL-ROUND’ DREAM

The Indian players are well versed with the abilities of Pollard and Russell to clear the boundaries at ease and pitch in with few valuable overs to keep the run rate in check when they bowl. It’s an area where Windies excel as compared to India as they have a plethora of options to choose from. Going in, the Indians have one credible all-rounder in the face of Ravindra Jadeja.

Image courtesy: AFP/ Oli Scarff

Clearly outnumbering the Indians in the all-round department, the strength of the Windies squad has never been better in the past few years. As they host two-time World Cup winners at home, their chances of denting India’s hope of continuing their winning tradition in the Caribbean are at an all-time high.

Having armoured themselves with a blend of young blood and old guns, India’s tour of Windies promises to be a close contest.

Feature image courtesy: AFP/ Dibyangshu Sarkar

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