India take on West Indies in the sixth game of the International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy 2013 at Kennington Oval, London on Tuesday. They have won their respective tournament openers in Group B.
Overview:
Both the teams will come into the contest with eyes firmly set on the semi-final berth. They have two points each from the wins in their respective openers.
India beat South Africa by 26 runs in the tournament opening game. The Champions Trophy 2002 winners (joint winner with Sri Lanka) have bad record at The Oval, winning three, losing seven and one no-result of the total 11 ODIs played at the venue. But with a strong batting line-up at their disposal, they will be keen not only to win on Tuesday but also improve their record at the venue.
West Indies beat Pakistan by two wickets in a low scoring match in their previous game. The Champions Trophy 2004 winners have a very good record at The Oval, winning nine and losing two out of the 11 ODIs played at the venue. They are a well-balanced but unpredictable team with a few batsmen like Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard who can change the course of a game with their batting exploits.
Previous Meetings:
West Indies have 57-46 win-loss record against India with one tie and two no-results out the 106 ODIs played between the countries so far. West Indies also lead 2-1 against India in Champions Trophy encounters. However, India won nine of their last 12 meetings.
Team News:
India: Shikar Dhawan (114), Rohit Sharma (65), Ravindra Jadeja (47) and Virat Kohli (31) helped India put up a total of 331 in their previous match against South Africa. They will be expected to perform in the upcoming matches too. In-form bastmen Dinesh Karthik, MS Dhoni and Suresh Raina will be expected to contribute with their bats.
Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma and Ravindra Jadeja took two wickets apiece in their Champions Trophy opener against South Africa. They defended 331 total but they need to put in their acts together knowing the fact that they let the opponents score 305 in their unsuccessful run chase.
West Indies: Chris Gayle (39), Marlon Samuels (30) and Kieron Pollard (30) helped the team chase Pakistan's 170 total in their tournament opener. Gayle and Charles will be expected to give the team a good start and open up the avenues for the middle order to add some quick runs. Wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin could miss Tuesday's match after the ICC banned him for two ODIs for "conduct that is contrary to the spirit of the game" during the game against Pakistan. He has 24 hours to appeal against the decision before the ban is imposed.
Kemar Roach and Sunil Narine took three wickets apiece while Ravi Rampaul and Darren Bravo took a wicket each in the previous match against Pakistan. They did a good job, restricting the score of the opponents to just 170. They will be expected to put up a similar show and make the work of their batsmen easier.
Prediction:
West Indies are a strong side but India are the favourites to win on Tuesday.
Squads:
India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (Captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay, Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Irfan Pathan, Umesh Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Amit Mishra and R Vinay Kumar
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Captain), Denesh Ramdin, Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Chris Gayle, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Kieron Pollard, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Devon Smith
Where to Watch Live
The match will kick off at 3:00 PM IST on Tuesday and it will be telecast live on Star Cricket and Star Sports channels in India. It will also be live streamed online on Star Sports official website.
