Follow UsAfter a rare five-day break, in which the focus was on bidding, buying and selling, cricket will take center stage once again on Wednesday as team India take on West Indies in the first of the three T20Is at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata. While India registered a comprehensive 3-0 win against the Kiwis the last time they played the shortest format, the Windies too will be coming on the back of a win, after downing England 3-2 at home. But it will be the hosts that will be clear favorites, with the Windies having won just 1 away match in 10 attempts since the pandemic restart.
Ground Details
The entirety of the T20I series will be played at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata, and it surprisingly is a venue where India have had mixed results. A total of 8 T20Is have been played by India at the Eden Gardens, but the Men in Blue have emerged victorious just thrice. Since 2016 these two sides have clashed twice in Kolkata and have shared the spoils, with India winning the previous encounter in 2018. Rohit Sharma’s side, though, enjoyed a comprehensive win at the venue against New Zealand last year, registering a handsome 73-run win.
Eden is a fairly high-scoring ground and in 14 T20Is since 2016, the average first innings total has been 158. In the last T20I that was played at the venue, India batted first and posted 184.
It is a venue that has something for everyone, but it generally offers wickets that interests seamers. Since 2016, 60% of the wickets at Eden have been picked by seamers. This is, however, no guarantee that the wicket will be a seam-friendly one, for the New Zealand encounter saw two finger-spinners (Santner and Axar) take six wickets between them.
Team suggestion
Captain selection
When it’s Eden, there is simply no looking beyond Rohit Sharma, who has a staggering record at the venue. In 16 games the Indian skipper has averaged 41 while striking at 144, and also has a T20 century to his name at the venue. The last time he played at Eden, Rohit struck a sizzling 31-ball 56 versus the Kiwis. Lay your faith in the Indian skipper without thinking twice.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Rohit to score between 42-62 runs in the first T20I
X-factors
Man of the Series against England for remarkably picking 15 wickets in 5 games, Jason Holder is in red-hot form. He was one of the very few Windies players who showed fight in the ODIs too, and he had respectable showings with both bat and ball across the three games. Currently at the very peak of his powers, Holder is one figure that could certainly spoil team India’s party.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Holder to take 4-5 wickets and score 8-12 runs
Harshal Patel made his international debut in the T20I series against New Zealand and it didn’t take him long to show the world that his record-breaking IPL campaign was no fluke. The RCB man picked up 4 wickets in the 2 games he played and yet again nailed the death overs, deceiving the Kiwis with his change of pace. The Windies batters like pace on the ball, and Harshal’s variations are certain to prove tricky for the power-hitters down the order.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Harshal to take 1-2 wickets in the first T20I
Not just Holder, another West Indian player who stole the show in the England series was Rovman Powell, who finished the series with an average of 73.50 and SR of 193.42. He brought up his maiden T20 ton in the series too, and looked like a player reborn. His prowess against spin makes him stand out and the Windies will be banking on him to do damage in the middle-overs.
Our Criclytics Player Projector predicts Powell to score between 29-43 runs in the first T20I
Probable XIs
West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal