West Indies skipper Shai Hope won the toss and elected to bowl first against India in the second ODI at Kensington Oval, here on Saturday.
Hardik Pandya, who was leading the side as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested, said Axar Patel and Sanju Samson come into playing eleven as India look to add to their victory in the opening ODI.
“We were looking to bat first. Wicket was up and down in the first half of the last game, so we want to see how they go here,” said Pandya.
“The way we bowled (in the first ODI) was impressive. The way we caught was great, it changed the momentum. Our energy and finishing the game without losing as many wickets have been great,” Pandya said.
West Indies also made two changes, bringing in Alzarri Joseph and Keacy Carty coming in place of Rovman Powell and Oshane Thomas.
“We’ll bowl first after seeing what happened in the last game and the conditions may assist bowlers at the start. We have to put the last game behind us and understand what’s at stake with the series on the line,” said Shai Hope.
“The pitch has been unpredictable of late, but they’ll have to capitalise at the start and get a good game going. Batters have to find ways to score but bowlers will have to put India under pressure as they’ll bowl first. Powell and Drakes are out, Joseph and Carty come in,” said the West Indies captain.
Playing XIs:
India: Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (capt), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.
West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (capt & wk), Keacy Carty, Shimron Hetmyer, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales.
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