After winning the toss, MS Dhoni said that it's overcast and they are looking to exploit the conditions. He informed that they have gone unchanged.
Windies skipper Dwayne Bravo said that they would have bowled first too and added that they would look to forget the conditions and look to bat well and put up a good total. He informed that Denesh Ramdin is out and Darren Sammy replaced him. Johnson Charles will keep the wickets.
It's a bit overcast at The Oval and there is a tinge of green grass on the surface. It's going to be a two paced pitch. Not going to be a good time for the batsmen. According to Sunil Gavaskar, expect a low scoring affair.
Both the teams have won their opening group matches in contrasting fashion, and know very well that a win on Tuesday will almost guarantee a spot in the last four stage of the tournament.
The clash will be a battle between many players who have solid 'knowledge' of each other.
India and the West Indies are studded with key players who are aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
This will be a clash where national prestige will be at stake and no quarter will be given nor asked for.
India look stronger on paper and their batting looks in awesome form with three back-to-back 300-plus scores in conditions where the ball has done a bit early in the innings.
But application and pitch occupation will be crucial. India's opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma blunted South Africa's pace attack with a match-winning 127-run stand in the tournament's opening game in Cardiff.
And it is unlikely that India will disturb Cardiff's winning combination that saw Dinesh Karthik promoted to No. 4 and Dhoni up at No. 5 ahead of Suresh Raina.
On the other hand, in spite of their enormous potential, the West Indies remain a fickle lot.
The fact that they left out Test captain and all-rounder Darren Sammy from the playing XI against Pakistan in the opening game reflected the team's depth and confidence, but the batting frailties surfaced as the Caribbeans escaped with a two-wicket victory while chasing a modest 170 against Pakistan.
West Indies have the experience and the talent to give the Indians a run for their money.
The Oval's track has no gremlins and if the top order of Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo and Samuels can see off India's new ball bowlers, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, it could turn out to be a high-scoring affair. The first 15 overs have held the keys to success in the Champions Trophy so far.
West Indies have a 2-1 win-loss record against India in the Champions Trophy. Both Caribbean wins, interestingly, came on sub-continental wickets in 1998 (Dhaka) and 2006 (Ahmedabad), respectively. India beat West Indies by seven wickets in Johannesburg in 2009 with medium-pacer Praveen Kumar bagging 3 for 22.
But history will count for nothing as the team that handles the conditions better will come out on top on Tuesday.
Teams:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul.
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