File photo of West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo.
© AFP
After going down badly against England in a five-match Test series, India will have a chance for redemption when they take on West Indies in familiar conditions at home, starting on October 8 with a five-match ODI series. The biggest test among the Indian batsmen will be one for Virat Kohli, who failed miserably in English conditions facing the likes of James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Kohli has an opportunity to become the fourth Indian batsman to total 1000-plus runs against West Indies in the one-day internationals. He has currently scored 919 runs against the Caribbean side. Batting legends Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly are the only other Indians to have scored 1000 runs against West Indies in this format. Not just this, Kohli can also join this elite Sachin-Dravid-Sourav club if he scores his 10th fifty against Windies in the five-match ODI series. He has scored nine already. (Unmukt Chand, Amit Mishra Shine as India A Crush West Indies in Warm-Up Opener)
West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo, who has an aggregate of 24 wickets against India in ODIs, is very effective with his slower deliveries. He can also prove to be equally handy with the bat. Bravo is also looking to complete a personal milestone of becoming the tenth cricketer in the annals of one day games to score 3000 runs and capture 200 wickets. He needs 59 more for his 3000 runs and four wickets for his 200 scalps.
Marlon Samuels will be one of the most exciting West Indian batsmen to watch out for during the series as he has been very successful against India and is looking to become only the second West Indian batsman to score over 700 runs against India in India. Carl Hooper has scored 806 runs.
Among Indian bowlers, Ravindra Jadeja could once again prove to be effective in getting wickets in spin-friendly conditions. Jadeja has been excellent for India in the limited overs format and he is four wickets away from completing 25 scalps in ODIs vs the West Indies.
When it comes to hitting sixes, there is no better customer than India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni. Dhoni has a chance to complete a rare feat of becoming the first Indian batsman to score 25-plus sixes against West Indies. However, in recent times, Dhoni has shown that he can also play sensibly and bail his team out of trouble when the top order fails. Dhoni is close to becoming the second captain in the annals of ODIs to score 50 half-centuries. Ricky Ponting has scored 73 fifties as captain.
All in all, this series will be a chance for some of the Indian batsmen to regain their form after a disastrous England tour. Spinners from both teams are expected to shine and make it tough for batsmen occasionally on otherwise flat tracks. Get ready for a run-feast!
(With inputs from Gopalakrishna Ramaswamy)
0 comments:
Post a Comment