July 9, 2017 by admin

Fireworks upfront

Kingston (Jamaica), Skipper Virat Kohli might open the innings when India take on the Indies in a one-off T20I, aiming to finish their Caribbean sojourn on a high despite the threat posed by Chris Gayle’s return to the home team.
After winning the five-match ODI series 3-1, India will certainly have an upperhand despite the presence of Gayle, who can single-handedly swing fortunes especially in the shortest format.
However, Gayle will be donning the Caribbean maroons after a gap 15 months during which he has battled injuries as well as poor form during the IPL, which was his last competitive tournament before this particular game.
The change in format may bring about some strategic shift in the playing XI with Kohli expected to open the innings. Kohli has opened a lot for Royal Challengers Bangalore in the IPL and also occasionally for India when Rohit Sharma has not been around.
While Ajinkya Rahane has had a fantastic ODI series with close to 350 runs including a century and three half-tons, Kohli opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan looks more likely considering the change in format.
For West Indies, the onus will be on their spin twins Narine and Badree, who can trouble the Indian batsmen with their variations.
Narine may also open the innings, something which he successfully did for Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL.