Daijiworld Media Network
London, Jun 11 : Welcome to the coverage of the match between India and West Indies. Both teams are coming after victories in their first games and will be looking to get closer to a semi-final berth. The weather is a bit of a concern but it looks fine for the moment, let's hope it stays that way.
Team news: West Indies will be forced to make one change at least, as their wicket keeper Dinesh Ramdin has been suspended for two ODIs. That means Johnson Charles will take the keeping gloves. Darren Sammy may replace Ramdin in the eleven, but let's wait for the official confirmation at the toss.
Pitch report: It is not a great wicket for batting. It will be a bit two paced. There will be some help for the spinners as well.
Today's match will be Virat Kohli's 100th ODI. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin's 50th ODI.
Here are some qualification scenarios: if India win, they are through to the semi-final. That will also knock Pakistan out of the tournament. If West Indies win though, it will make the group even more interesting.
India have won the toss and elected to field
Bravo: 'We would have bowled first as well, but we shouldn't think much about the conditions now and look to bat well. Ramdin is out and Darren Sammy is in. Losing Ramdin is a big blow to us but we're trying not to get distracted by that. We're all aware of what happened and we don't want to think much about it.'
Dhoni: 'We had a team activity day before yesterday and we had a paint-ball session. The team manager was at the receiving end. Apart from that, we've had a good practice session. Same side, no changes. Conditions are overcast and the pitch will not change much. We've not been a side that's really known for fielding but we've worked hard in the last few years. A lot of new guys have come and lifted the fielding standards. Getting Gayle's wicket is not just vital, it's of utmost importance. Most of us manage to pick Sunil Narine's variation. We're not thinking too far ahead, we just want to do well today. '
India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Dinesh Karthik, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav
West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Johnson Charles(w), Dwayne Bravo(c), Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul
Match preview :
Both teams may have won their previous games, but there are still many pressing issues to address as they seek to book their berth in the next round. West Indies and India both got off to winning starts but will still hope to iron out the flaws and keep the momentum going for the tougher games ahead. Both the teams will know very well that a win here will almost guarantee a spot in the last four stage of the tournament, being held for the last time.
While reigning world champions India defeated injury-hit South Africa by 26 runs in Cardiff after posting a commanding 331 for 7, the West Indies eked out a close two-wicket win over Pakistan in a low-scoring game on Friday.
The clash will be a battle between many players who have solid 'knowledge' of each other. Having just played the Indian Premier League, India and the West Indies are studded with key players who are aware of each other's strengths and weaknesses.
India, with a muscular batting line-up, are the world champions and currently No. 1 in the ICC rankings, whereas West Indies are a team on the ascendancy but with an air of unpredictability that always keeps the opposition on tenterhooks.
India
With eyes firmly set on a semifinal berth, a confident India will seek to keep the momentum going when they take on an unpredictable West Indies in a crucial Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval on Tuesday.
From an overall team perspective and build-up, India look stronger on paper. Their batting looks near impeccable with three back-to-back 300-plus scores in conditions where the ball has done a bit early in the innings. With a slight change in the batting order, Murali Vijay was dropped to accommodate Rohit Sharma as an opener in the first match against the Proteas, and the runs came in torrents after an initial period of graft. The lessons learnt from the warm-up games were clear.
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.
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 in Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ishant Sharma, it could turn out to be a high-scoring affair. Much will depend on the likes of R Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja to keep the big hitting Windies batting order under check.
West Indies
In-form West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels has already sounded the warning bells, saying the Caribbeans will look the Indians in the eye and have the arsenal to rattle them in English conditions. 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.
West Indies have the experience and the talent to give the Indians a run for their money. They will surely test the Indian batsmen with both speed and spin. Pacers Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul and Tino Best can be a handful while spinner Sunil Narine will always have a few tricks up his sleeve.
West Indies will be without regular keeper Denesh Ramdin, who was banned for 2 matches after the opener against Pakistan, and Johnson Charles will take his place behind the stumps. Ramdin's absence should give Windies the opening to bring back former skipper Darren Sammy to the playing XI.
Stats
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 in this match.
Quotes
Dwayne Bravo: It's another tough game against a team whose strength lies is their batting. But we have the right bowlers to control their batting. Cricket is played on the day. India could turn up on Tuesday and be knocked over, or score a big total again as they normally do. I have the right attack if I want to go with someone with raw pace. I have the reserve bench that is strong enough to actually come up with the 11 that I think will do well against the Indians.
MS Dhoni: As players, we can only control the things we are able to. We don't get to read newspapers and there are no channels. So we are not disturbed here. We can focus on cricket and do our own team exercises.