Tag: India in West Indies

Big picture - India, West Indies look at the long termAfter losing the first two T20Is, India kept the five-match series alive with a thumping win in the third. While, in the long run, the result of this series will matter little, India are looking to try out personnel for the 2024 T20 World Cup - handing Yashasvi Jaiswal a debut in the previous game was a sign of that.At the same time, they have an eye on the upcoming ODI World Cup, and Tilak Varma has emerged as a strong candidate for the No. 4 slot in that squad. Tilak's international career is just three T20Is old, but he has impressed everyone with his temperament. Moreover, India don't have a left-hander in their first-choice top six in ODIs. If picked, he can fill that void too.India, however, know that success in T20Is is no guara...

Big picture: Fearless approach sets the tone In the first T20I on Thursday, there was a hint of the fearlessness and the freedom with which both West Indies and India batted. Despite losing both opening batters inside three balls of the fifth over, Nicholas Pooran pumped Yuzvendra Chahal for a four and a six off the next three deliveries. Next over, he deposited Axar Patel for a six and four.Fast forward to the run chase where India too lost both openers early. They were scoring at less than a run a ball two deliveries into the final over of the powerplay when debutant Tilak Varma pulled back-to-back sixes to show us just a glimpse of the future.Both teams are filled with eye-catching hitters and the T20 format offers the perfect stage to entertain only it was the bowlers who shone the br...

Big picture: IPL heroes vs CPL starsThough West Indies failed to qualify for the main event of the last T20 World Cup - and the upcoming ODI World Cup - their T20I side seems to be in better health than their ODI and Test teams. Either side of the T20 World Cup's first round in 2022, West Indies challenged New Zealand in a 2-1 series defeat at home, and beat South Africa 2-1 away. They will be bolstered further by the return of Nicholas Pooran, who propelled MI New York to the MLC title last Sunday with a sensational 137 not out off 55 balls. Allrounders Jason Holder, Odean Smith and Akeal Hosein are also back in the mix.India will be without Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj for the T20I leg of the West Indies and USA tours, but their line-up still drips with p...

Big pictureIndia are gearing up for a home World Cup, fine-tuning their combination with just over two months to go for the big event. West Indies will play no part in it.While ODIs will be the most keenly followed format of international cricket over the coming weeks, West Indies may wonder what exactly they're trying to achieve when they play their 50-overs cricket. They'll want to pick themselves up, of course, after the shocks they suffered at the Qualifier in Zimbabwe, but pick themselves up to do what?With no World Cup to prepare for, there's no wider context to ODI cricket for West Indies for now. There are no World Cup Super League points to win, and there's no threat just yet that they'll fail to make the 2027 World Cup, which will feature 14 teams who will qualify based on their...