Nobody would want to remind the West Indies of the last time they played India. The last time the two sides were involved in a series, the West Indies had to return home because of a pay dispute with their cricket board. Since then, the Indian cricket board BCCI and the West Indies board WICB, have not been on speaking terms as the BCCI has sued the WICB for millions of dollars for lost revenues.
The players from both teams though, are all teammates in the IPL and enjoy each other’s company. R Ashwin acknowledged that his Chennai Super Kings teammate and West Indies captain Jason Holder was doing a good job and said that the Indians would not let their guards down: “I don’t think we’re there [in the Quarter Finals]. There are three games (left) and Ireland’s also played good cricket. We like to treat every game like it’s a knockout game so that it propels us in a good state.”
Jason Holder talked about his IPL captain MS Dhoni and how he had been such a huge influence on him: “I’ve picked up a lot from Dhoni. He’s a good leader. He’s a guy who is respected in the dressing room.”
India are a happy team in this World Cup and have won all their matches quite comfortably, even the tough ones against South Africa and Pakistan. As a team, they are gelling well together and are virtually guaranteed to go through at the top of their group. The only question remains as to who they meet in the last 8.
West Indies are not guaranteed a spot in the Quarter Finals and will have to fight it out against the likes of Pakistan and Ireland to get there. For them, getting to the next stage would require a lot of effort. They lost badly to South Africa in their last game and would hope to do much better against the Indians. A similar defeat at the hands of the Indians would have disastrous consequences on the team morale.
For India, Mohammad Shami is fit, but he is expected to be rested against the West Indies. Bhuvneshwar Kumar should get another game. Mohit Sharma was suspected to have picked up an injury, but turns out he is okay.
West Indies are likely to go in with the same team that beat Pakistan but lost to South Africa.
The Teams
India:1 Shikhar Dhawan, 2 Rohit Sharma, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ajinkya Rahane, 5 Suresh Raina, 6 MS Dhoni (capt & wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 R Ashwin, 9 Bhuvneshwar Kumar/Mohammed Shami, 10 Mohit Sharma, 11 Umesh Yadav
West Indies: 1 Dwayne Smith, 2 Chris Gayle, 3 Jonathan Carter, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 6 Lendl Simmons, 7 Darren Sammy, 8 Andre Russell, 9 Jason Holder (capt), 10 Jerome Taylor, 11 Sulieman Benn
Match Conditions
The WACA pitch is a perfect track for cricket. It has pace, bounce and a plenty of carry for the fast bowlers and is a belter for batsmen. We expect a high scoring game. If Chris Gayle gets his eye in, anything is possible. The weather is likely to be perfect.
Watch India take on West Indies tomorrow at 12:00 PM on Star Sports!
