HIGHLIGHTS, India vs West Indies, Full Cricket Score, 1st T20I Match Result in Florida: India win by four wickets, take 1-0 lead

Virat Kohli, India captain: It was right up there. The pitch wasn’t great to be honest. They did a pretty good job to get started. It was a sluggish pitch and our bowlers were on top. (On Navdeep Saini) He’s come a long way. Had a great season with us last year. Raw talent and pace, and is someone who can build a name for himself. He’s fit and he’s hungry as well. I think we lost a couple of wickets more than what we liked. That’s how the pitch was. The new ball was coming on to the bat decently, but started getting tougher once the ball got older.

Navdeep Saini is the Player of the Match for his figure of 3/17

Carlos Brathwaite, WI Captain: Once again the batting. Pollard showed his experience. 135 would have given Indians more challenge. It was a tough pitch. Lack of assessment with the bat. We batted ourselves out of the game. We need to play positive, aggressive cricket. Going into the next match, we need to keep the intent and be a bit smarter. Sunil’s four overs are important. He brought us back in the game.

So, India go 1-0 up in the three-match T20I series, but not in the most convincing manner. Virat Kohli and the team management have to do some self-introspection before taking the field tomorrow on this same surface. In fact, both the teams need to change their batting plans drastically under these conditions, where 150 seems to be a winning score.

Today, for me debutant Navdeep Saini has to be the player of the match.

“It’s always good to be back in maroon. Hopefully I can continue the performance and keep performing for West Indies. (On WI’s performance) We’ve got to play positive cricket. Start well first in the powerplay, and then carry on from there. Once we play good cricket and hard cricket, the results will take care of themselves. No new thing at the moment, but I’m just enjoying my cricket,” says Sunil Narine in the post-match presentation.

After 17.2 overs,India 98/6 ( Ravindra Jadeja 10 , Washington Sundar 8)

After dismissing John Campbell off the second delivery of the day, Washington Sundar gets the honour of hitting the winning shot, smashing the ball over long on off the second delivery of Paul’s final over to bring the match to an end! India lead the three-match T20I series 1-0.

SIX! Washington Sundar ends it in style, smashing the ball over long on to end the match! India huff and puff their way past the finish line to go 1-0 up in the three-match series! IND 98/6

After 17 overs,India 92/6 ( Ravindra Jadeja 10 , Washington Sundar 2)

Skipper Brathwaite returns to the attack. Washington Sundar walks out to bat alongside Jadeja, who has now assumed charge for whatever’s left of the chase. Just four singles off the over. India now within touching distance of victory. India need four to win off 18 balls.

After 16 overs,India 88/6 ( Ravindra Jadeja 8 , )

Excellent over from Keemo Paul, conceding just three runs off it before getting rid of Krunal Pandya off the last delivery. India need another 8 to win from 24 balls, but it’s down to the tail to guide them home now. West Indies not out of the game yet. They’re one good over away from going 1-0 up in the three-match series.

BOWLED EM! Krunal Pandya departs now, getting beaten by a delivery angling into the batsman, the ball then clipping the top of middle stump after beating Pandya’s outside edge. IND 88/6

Krunal b Paul 12(14)

After 15 overs,India 85/5 ( Krunal Pandya 11 , Ravindra Jadeja 6)

Misfield by Evin Lewis at deep extra cover allows Jadeja to come back for three runs. Krunal then pulls the ball towards wide long on, with Brathwaite giving the ball a chase and pulls it back inside just short of the advertising cushion, saving a run for the hosts. Pandya collects a boundary off the penultimate delivery, pulling it towards deep midwicket, but nearly chops the ball onto his stumps off the final ball. Thomas finishes his quota, going wicketless while conceding 29 runs. India need another 11 to win off 30 balls with five wickets in hand.

FOUR! Pulled away towadrs the midwicket fence by Krunal Pandya, and India are in the driver’s seat now! IND 85/5

After 14 overs,India 73/5 ( Krunal Pandya 3 , Ravindra Jadeja 2)

Sheldon Cottrell strikes off his penultimate delivery, getting rid of the India captain to give the West Indians hope of taking the game deep. New batsman Ravindra Jadeja gets off the mark with a brace off the last delivery. Five runs and a wicket off Cottrell’s final over. The ‘Salute Master’ signs off with figures of 2/20 from four overs. India need another 23 to win from 36 balls with five wickets in hand.

Well, well, well, Kohli goes and India still need 27 more runs to win. This West Indies bowling attack is testing the so called best batting line-up in the world. One more wicket at this stage will bring West Indies right back in the game with a genuine chance.

OUT! Cottrell strikes for the second time this innings, and nets the big fish in Virat Kohli! The India skipper goes for a pull shot, but ends up edging it off the bottom of the bat to offer Kieron Pollard a simple catch at midwicket. IND 69/5

Kohli c Pollard b Cottrell 19(29)

After 13 overs,India 68/4 ( Virat Kohli (C) 19 , Krunal Pandya 2)

Narine concedes just two off his final over, finishing his spell with quality figures of 2/13, a spell that helped keep the Windies in the hunt. India need another 28 to win off 42 deliveries with six wickets in hand.

Manish Pandey was playing a good hand before missing that straight ball from Keemo Paul. Unlike others, he didn’t struggled much with his timing. But he should have stayed till the end. If you want to cement your spot in the team, these are the opportunities, you need to pounce on.

After 12 overs,India 66/4 ( Virat Kohli (C) 18 , Krunal Pandya 1)

Keemo Paul brought back into the attack, and he gets the breakthrough, ending the fourth-wicket stand by uprooting the off-stump to send Pandey back to the hut for 19. Krunal Pandya joins Kohli at the crease now. Six runs and a wicket from the over. India need another 30 to win from 48 balls.

BOWLED EM! Pandey misses a full delivery from Keemo Paul, and his off stump goes for a cartwheel! IND 64/4

Pandey b Paul 19(14)

After 11 overs,India 60/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 16 , Manish Pandey 16)

The West Indies skipper decides to have a bowl in this over. Kohli steps forward and slashes the ball behind point for a four, before following a set pattern of the two batsmen rotating the strike between themselves off the remaining deliveries. India need 36 to win off 54 balls.

Virat Kohli is now at the second place in the list of players scoring most runs in T20Is, going past Marin Guptill who has scored 2272 runs in T20Is.

FOUR! Virat Kohli charges down the track and slashes the ball behind point, the ball then racing away to the boundary for a four. IND 56/3

After 10 overs,India 52/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 10 , Manish Pandey 14)

Pandey drives a half-volley from Thomas at the start of the over to collect his second boundary. Four singles collected off the remaining deliveries as India breach the 50-run mark at the halfway stage of their innings. The ‘Men in Blue’ need another 44 to win off 60 balls.

FOUR! Solid drive through extra cover by Manish Pandey, who collects his second boundary in the process! IND 48/3

After 9 overs,India 44/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 8 , Manish Pandey 8)

Narine bowls out another quick over, with three coming off this one, including a brace to Kohli off the last delivery of the over. The Indian skipper will have to anchor the chase for the remainder of the innings now.

That was poor from Rishabh Pant. Looks like he hasn’t learnt much from his dismissal at a crucial juncture of that World Cup semi-final. As an international cricketer, he just can not play such irresponsible shots and keep his place in the team. This is terrible game awareness. Maybe today it won’t hurt the team much but remember, he is also India’s first-choice option in Test cricket. Feel it is high time for the coach and the team management to deal with Pant. 

Meanwhile, Rohit was looking good before Narine had the better of him. West Indies are hanging in there.

After 8 overs,India 41/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 6 , Manish Pandey 7)

Keemo Paul brought into the attack in the eighth over, with Manish Pandey welcoming him into the attack with a straight drive for a boundary. Three singles and a wide off the remaining deliveries, with eight coming off the over. Required rate less than five at the moment, and the current pair doesn’t need to take risks at this stage.

The cost is too high to master that shot

Pant is still trying to perfect the shot he played in the world cup semifinal #WIvIND

— Gaurav Kalra (@gauravkalra75) August 3, 2019

FOUR! Pandey collects his first boundary with a stylish drive down the ground, beating mid off! IND 37/3

After 7 overs,India 33/3 ( Virat Kohli (C) 5 , Manish Pandey 1)

Big over from Sunil Narine, getting rid of Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant off successive deliveries to bring West Indies back in the game. Both batsmen played needless shots, and like the Windies batsmen, ended up paying the price. Manish Pandey joins Virat Kohli at the crease.

Rishabh Pant’s last three scores in T20Is:

3, 1, 0 (Today)

OUT! Wicket off successive deliveries for Sunil Narine, as Rishabh Pant departs for a golden duck, getting caught by Cottrell at deep backward square leg. The question mark over Pant’s temperament re-emerges after this dismissal! IND 32/3

Pant c Cottrell b Narine 0(1)

OUT! Rohit’s gone, holing out to the man at long on! He will rue playing a needless slog down the ground, one he could’nt get proper timing on. Easy catch for Pollard near the boundary. IND 32/2

Rohit c Pollard b Narine 24(25)

After 6 overs,India 31/1 ( Rohit Sharma 24 , Virat Kohli (C) 4)

Rohit, having faced a bulk of the deliveries so far in the innings, goes after Cottrell, collecting a four and a six — the ball travelling towards either side of the wicket — as 11 runs are collected off the over. End of the fielding restrictions. India collect 31 runs for the loss of a wicket.

SIX! Second big hit of the innings! Didn’t look like it came off the middle, rather the toe end of Sharma’s bat. Rohit’s timing however, coupled with the boundary dimensions, see the ball land among the spectators beyond the deep extra cover fence. IND 31/1

FOUR! Rohit in his element now, and that will worry the West Indies camp. The India vice captain swats a full delivery from Cottrell towards long on for a one-bounce four. IND 25/1

After 5 overs,India 20/1 ( Rohit Sharma 14 , Virat Kohli (C) 3)

Spin brought into play with Brathwaite tossing the ball over to Narine, who’s playing his first match for West Indies since September 2017. Kohli collects a single off the first delivery, before Rohit cuts the ball hard behind point for a boundary off the second. Lbw appeal against Rohit off the third, which is turned down by the umpire and looked like it was going down leg anyway. Single off each of the last two deliveries. Seven off Narine’s first over.

FOUR! The Indian vice-captain collects his first four, cutting a back-of-length delivery from Sunil Narine behind point. IND 18/1

After 4 overs,India 13/1 ( Rohit Sharma 9 , Virat Kohli (C) 1)

Another quality over from Cottrell, giving away just two singles off it. One cannot judge a pitch until both teams have batted on it, and so far the Indians too aren’t looking comfortable. That doesn’t however, absolve the Windies batsmen of their recklessness.

Rohit Sharma needs to hit three more sixes to go past Chris Gayle’s record of hitting most sixes in T20Is – 105.

After 3 overs,India 11/1 ( Rohit Sharma 8 , Virat Kohli (C) 0)

Rohit gets a thick top-edge while fending a short ball from Thomas, the ball then travelling all the way over the fine-leg fence for a maximum. Rohit then uppercuts the ball towards third man, where the ball lands just short of the diving fielder. Seven conceded by Thomas off his second over.

Considering the pitch, I feel West Indies have a decent bowling attack. Pacers like Thomas, Cottrell, Paul and Brathwaite can be hard to get away on a sticky wicket like this. Also, let’s not forget that they have Sunil Narine’s spin to back up these fast bowlers. Unfortunately, today the attack doesn’t have enough runs to defend. However, the early wicket of Dhawan will keep the Windies bowlers interested.

SIX! First big hit of the innings, this one coming off a top-edge off Rohit’s bat that sails all the way over the fine leg fence! IND 10/1

After 2 overs,India 4/1 ( Rohit Sharma 1 , )

Sheldon ‘Salute’ Cottrell bowls from the other end. Begins his spell with a couple of wides while bowling to Dhawan, but gives Windies the early breakthrough they were hoping for by trapping the left-handed opener lbw for just 1. Out comes the salute early in the Indian innings.

OUT! Sheldon Cottrell strikes early, trapping Shikhar Dhawan leg before for 1, and out comes the salute! Dhawan went for a wild heave towards the leg side, missing the ball completely and getting hit plumb in front of the wicket. IND 4/1

Dhawan lbw Cottrell 1(7)

Batting average against West Indies in T20Is:

Rohit Sharma : 61.85
Shikhar Dhawan : 27.83

After 1 over,India 2/0 ( Rohit Sharma 1 , Shikhar Dhawan 1)

Rohit starts off with a couple of dots, before setting off for a quick single off the third delivery to get off the mark. Dhawan responds by guiding the ball towards third man for a single to open his account right away. Two off the over.

Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan arrive at the crease at the start of India’s reply, the former on strike. Oshane Thomas to bowl the first over. West Indies will need to get an early wicket or two if they are to defend the modest target of 96.

A fabulous finish for Saini and India. By far, he has been the best Indian bowler on the field today. Very impressed with his change of lengths to surprise the batters time and again. Also even on this sticky pitch, Saini pushed batsmen back with his pace. Nevertheless, his other colleagues have done some excellent job as well. Overall it has been a very professional performance by India as Windies couldn’t even cross the 100-run mark. In the second half, India should not have much fuss to chase this total down.

Lowest totals for West Indies in T20Is:

45 v England, Basseterre, 2019
60 v Pakistan, Karachi, 2018
71 v England, Basseterre, 2019
78/7 v Zimbabwe, Port of Spain, 2010
95/9 v India, Lauderhill, 2019*

After 20 overs,West Indies 95/9 ( Sheldon Cottrell 0 , Oshane Thomas 0)

West Indies make 95/9 in 20 overs. A poor batting display from West Indies. Pollard made more than half of the team runs. Dream debut for Saini who finishes with figures of 3 for 17. The last over he bowled was a maiden-wicket. Superb stuff from him and India. See you on the other side with the chase.

OUT! That’s the end of Pollard. Saini bowled a slower full-toss and Pollard who was right in front of his stumps, missed it and the ball hit his right thigh. There was no appeal from anyone wearig blue except Pant, who asked Kohli to take the review. Kohli did that and the ball tracker showed that the ball would be crashing the middle stump. Pollard goes back for 49. Pollard lbw b Navdeep Saini 49(49)

After 19 overs,West Indies 95/8 ( Kieron Pollard 49 , Sheldon Cottrell 0)

Bhuvi continues. Wicket of the first ball of the over as Paul departs. Pollard hits the next delivery in the deep on the leg side. Two balls later, he hits a six over the square leg region. A catch dropped by Pandey on the last ball. 7 off the over.

SIX! Short ball, and slow in pace from Bhuvneshwar. Pollard eyes the square leg region and hits it there comfortably.

OUT! Bhuvneshwar gets a wicket on the first ball of the 18th over. Keemo Paul wanted to pull it on front foot but the leading edge went up in the air, captain Kohli placed himself under the ball and took a safe catch. K Paul c Kohli b Bhuvneshwar 3(11)

Most bowlers taking atleast a wicket for India in a T20I match: 

v South Africa, Durban, 2011
v U.A.E., Dhaka, 2016
v West Indies, Lauderhill, 2019*

After 18 overs,West Indies 88/7 ( Kieron Pollard 42 , Keemo Paul 3)

Saini back on as well. He is building up good pace. Bowled well. Just 1 off the first three balls but bowled a loose delivery to Pollard and was hit for a six. 10 off the over. Windies inch closer to 100. Pollard to 50.

SIX! Full-toss to Pollard at this stage, criminal really, Saini wanted to bowl the yorker but missed the length, went to Pollard at good height and he flicked it for six in leg side.

After 17 overs,West Indies 78/7 ( Kieron Pollard 35 , Keemo Paul 1)

Bhuvneshwar come back to the attack. Bowls good line but leaks a boundary on the penultimate ball of the over. Windies collect 8 in the over. Pollard is key here for them if they want to go beyond 100.

Jadeja is using the crease brilliantly here. Furthermore, at times he is trying to do a ‘Kedar Jadhav’ with his bowling arm. Looks like these variations have been added to his armory of late.

FOUR! Short ball from Bhuvneshwar, Pollard stands stills and heaves it for four to mid-wicket boundary.

After 16 overs,West Indies 70/7 ( Kieron Pollard 28 , Keemo Paul 0)

Bizarre batting display for Windies in this match. They have all just tried to play their shots without recognising what situations demanded. Narine is gone as well. Jadeja finishes the spell. The last over is a wicket-maiden. He took 1 fo 13 in his four overs.

And Brathwaite disappoints once again. But credit goes to Pandya for holding on to that catch on his follow through. Meanwhile, Pandya and Jadeja are bowling their overs at a brisk pace. As a batsman, you hardly to get a time to adjust. It is a clear strategy and an experienced pro like Pollard should be aware of that. I think, he should slow things down here and make the bowlers wait a little before delivering the ball.

Did you know?

Navdeep Saini who has still two over me left today, became the second Indian bowler to take two wickets in the first over in T20Is after Pragyan Ojha.

OUT! Another one bites the dust. Bad to worse for Windies. Narine comes in and he wanted to hit the first ball of the over from Jadeja over deep mid-wicket, where Khaleel took a good catch. Windies have lost their seventh batsman. Narine c Khaleel Ahmed b Jadeja 2(4)

After 15 overs,West Indies 70/6 ( Kieron Pollard 28 , Sunil Narine 2)

Krunal has removed Brathwaite in the last over of his spell. The Windies captain was under pressure as he had faced many dots and the time had come to start hitting every ball. Krunal finishes spell with figures of 1/20.

OUT! That’s the end of Brathwaite, Krunal picks his first wicket of the tour, seems like arm ball, Brathwaite wanted to slap it over the bowler’s head on the back foot but ended up hitting right back to him. Brathwaite c and b Krunal Pandya 9(24)

After 14 overs,West Indies 65/5 ( Kieron Pollard 27 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 7)

Jadeja ends the over at light’s speed. No surprises there. Just 2 off it. Windies have recovered well and now would look to play the attacking game. 6 more overs to go.

Carlos Brathwaite has a disappointing batting average in international cricket. However, there is no dearth of talent. We have seen this time and again. His against New Zealand in the World Cup was quite extraordinary, and the skipper needs to produce a similar effort today to bail his team out of this situation along with the experience of Pollard. West Indies need to score something around 140-150 to have a chance here.

After 13 overs,West Indies 63/5 ( Kieron Pollard 26 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 6)

Krunal continues and Pant appeals for stumping. Umpires go upstairs but Pollard’s foot landed on the ground in time. No damage done for Windies. Some contest between Mumbai Indians teammates as Pollard was beaten on fourth ball and then on the next ball, he flicked Krunal for a maximum in the leg side. 9 off the over. Good two last overs for Windies.

SIX! Fuller from Krunal and Pollard was waiting for this ball, slightly on his legs as well and he just flicked it for six

After 12 overs,West Indies 54/5 ( Kieron Pollard 18 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 5)

Jadeja continues. Pollard had had enough of defending and Windies needed boundaries to break shackles. He came down the track and hit one down the ground for a maximum, to take Windies past 50. 9 off the over.

SIX! That should be a relief for Windies. Pollard comes down the track, Jadeja pulls the length back but with just one hand, Pollard clears the boundary straight down the ground. Fifty up for West Indies as well.

After 11 overs,West Indies 45/5 ( Kieron Pollard 10 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 4)

Krunal continues. He is angling the ball in to the right-handed Brathwaite. Occasionally taking away the ball. He has got his line and is sticking to it. Completed a maiden over as India maintain stranglehold on the match.

Strong words from Gambhir, making a direct attack on former India cricketers

Kudos Navdeep Saini on ur India debut. U already have 2 wkts even before u have bowled— @BishanBedi & @ChetanChauhanCr. Their middle stumps are gone seeing debut of a player whose cricketing obituary they wrote even before he stepped on the field, shame!!! @BCCI pic.twitter.com/skD77GYjk9

— Gautam Gambhir (@GautamGambhir) August 3, 2019

West Indies are in a self-destruct mode at this point. A sorry looking scorecard for them at the halfway stage of the innings. They are certainly a better team than this. Perhaps, the top-order has misread the conditions here. It is not exactly a flat batting pitch and some their batters should have taken their time early before going for those expansive shots. In hindsight, all the Indian bowlers have gone about their business quite professionally. They have stuck to their lengths and forced the batsmen to make the mistakes.

After 10 overs,West Indies 45/5 ( Kieron Pollard 10 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 4)

Ravindra Jadeja, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack and as expected, ends the over quickly. Both left-arm orthodix spinners now in action. Not a regular sight in Indian cricket. Just 2 off the over.

After 9 overs,West Indies 43/5 ( Kieron Pollard 9 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 3)

Krunal Pandya, left-arm orthodox, comes into the attack. Pollard gets a reprieve as the edge travels to third man for four. There was no slip for this ball. It was removed after the first three balls. 6 off the over.

FOUR! Krunal Pandya comes into the attack and produces an edge off Pollard’s bat, tough catch for Pant, it hits the gloves and runs down to third man boundary for four

After 8 overs,West Indies 37/5 ( Kieron Pollard 4 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 2)

Khaleel continues. Scorecard displays a sorry picture if you are a Windies fan. Three batsmen got out on ducks. Carlos and Pollard need to reassess the target here. Eight overs gone, the Men in Maroon have just 37 on the board with five wickets down. 150 should be a good total from here but they will have to bat really well to get there.

One of the most exciting talents to emerge from the Indian cricket pool! 

Khaleel Ahmed is one of the most exciting talents to emerge from the Indian domestic circuit. Since the start of 2018, he has taken 59 wickets in the format - no Indian player has taken more wickets in the timeline. #WIvIND

— The CricViz Analyst (@cricvizanalyst) August 3, 2019

Both West Indies openers getting out for a duck in a T20I match:

v New Zealand, Mount Manuganui, 2018
v India, Lauderhill, 2019*

How times have changed! 

The last time India played at Lauderhill in a full game, West Indies were 78/0 in six overs.

Today: 33/5 after six.#WIvIND #INDvWI

— Suneer (@suneerchowdhary) August 3, 2019

After 7 overs,West Indies 34/5 ( Kieron Pollard 3 , Carlos Brathwaite (C) 0)

Navdeep Saini continues. Windies in trouble. Two experienced T20 batsmen in the middle in Pollard and Brathwaite. Just 7 overs into the innings and Pollard is trying to walk into his shots. Just 1 off the over.

What a start for Saini in international cricket! In his first over at this level, the Delhi pacer removes Pooran and Hetmyer. Probably he has broken the backbone of this Windies batting. On this sticky pitch, his pace along with accurate line and length are paying dividends. Saini had an impressive IPL earlier this year and now showing his skills at this highest level.

After 6 overs,West Indies 33/5 ( Kieron Pollard 3 , )

Khaleel Ahmed, left-arm fast medium, brought into the attack. And on the last ball of the over, Rovman Powell fell. Yet again a batsman has fallen trying to score runs. Right now Windies need to calm things down and play some quiet overs if needed. India on top.

OUT! What’s happening in Florida? Windies in deep trouble now. That’s the fifth wicket that has gone down. Not the best of the deliveries, angling ball to Powell, going away from him, he reached out to the ball and ended up edging it to the keeper. Powell c Pant b Khaleel Ahmed 4(5)

So, both openers have gone back to the hut without troubling the scorers. This will peg back Windies and their gameplan in the powerplay for sure. Not long before Pooran and Hetmyer depart off successive balls as well. Anyway, good to see the experienced Pollard has been sent at No 4 to steady the ship. As a senior player, he needs to access the situation quickly and bat accordingly.

FOUR! Khaleel provides room to Powell and the right-handed batsman cuts him for a boundary to start his innings.

After 5 overs,West Indies 28/4 ( Kieron Pollard 2 , Rovman Powell 0)

Debutant Navdeep Saini, right-arm medium, comes into the attack. Pooran smashes him for a six off the second ball but two balls later, Saini come back strongly, bangs it short, asks Pooran to hit him again. Batsman attempts a pull but the top edge goes in air and that brings Pooran’s end. Saini gives a sendoff to Pooran. Hetmyer came to the crease and on the first ball, chopped it on to the stumps. Rovman Powell evaded the hat-trick.

OUT! And second wicket for Saini in two balls. Shimron Hetmyer, left handed bat, came to the crease and played the ball lazily to the off side, ended up chopping the ball on to the stumps. Turning out to be a dream debut for Saini. He is on hat-trick. Hetmyer b Navdeep Saini 0(1)

OUT! That’s the end of Pooran. He walks back to the hut. Saini banged it short and Pooran was tempted to heave it, ball took the top edge and went up, came down to keeper Pant who took a safe catch. Windies falling apart here. Pooran c Pant b Navdeep Saini 20(16)

SIX! That is some shot. Pooran at his best. Good length ball from Saini and the left-hander stands tall and hits it straight down the ground. Great power and what timing as well.

Kieran Pollard averages 14.40 against India in T20Is from five innings, scoring just 72 runs at a strike rate of 101.41.

After 4 overs,West Indies 22/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 14 , Kieron Pollard 2)

Bhuvneshwar continues. Pollard has joined Pooran in the middle. India on top here. Players look charged up. Pooran and Pollard key here to revive the innings. They bat deep and that is a good thing for them.

Evin Lewis against India in T20Is:

100, 7, 125*, 0

After 3 overs,West Indies 20/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 14 , Kieron Pollard 0)

Sundar continues, good contest in the middle. Pooran decided to counter-attack with a boundary and six off the first two balls before Sundar fixes his length and bowls three dots. 12 off the over.

SIX! And now slightly fuller from Sundar, Pooran was ready for this delivert and he uses the power in his arms to hit it straight down the ground for first six of the day.

FOUR! First boundary of the day for Windies off the bat of Pooran. Short ball from Sundar, the batsman rocks back and thwarts it to long off boundary for a boundary.

After 2 overs,West Indies 8/2 ( Nicholas Pooran (W) 2 , )

Bhuvneshwar bowls from the other end and he has removed Lewis with the knuckle ball. Both openers now back in the hut. This is the kind of start India wanted.

What a start for Washington Sundar and India!! Gets rid of Campbell with the second ball of the match. Interestingly, this West Indies team has four left-handers in their top-order. So for an off-spinner like Sundar, who can bowl with the new ball, there is always a chance against these flamboyant batsmen.

OUT! And here comes the second wicket, Bhuvneshwar Kumar from the other end, uses the knuckle ball and Lewis could not it, played the shot way too early and the missed to connect, ball hit the top of off stump. Lewis b Bhuvneshwar 0(4)

The six machine! 

Nicholas Pooran has hit 56 sixes in T20 cricket this year – the joint third most by any player.

After 1 overs,West Indies 6/1 ( Evin Lewis 0 , Nicholas Pooran (W) 1)

Washington Sundar opens the attack and he has struck on the second ball of the his first over. Campbell tried to attack from the word go, played the slog sweep but could not hit it along the ground and was caught in the deep on the leg side. Great start for India. 6 off the over and a wicket. Nicholas Pooran has joined Lewis in the middle.

India vs West Indies T20I head-to-head

The head to head record between India and West Indies in T20Is is 5-5.

OUT! Wicket on the second ball of the innings. Sundar strikes, flight from the off spinner and Campell wanted to go over the cow corner region, where Krunal Pandya was placed for just this kind of shot, and he has been held by the fielder safely. Campbell goes back for 0. John Campbell c Krunal Pandya b Washington Sundar 0(2)

Alright, players have come out in the middle. Left-handers John Campbell and Evin Lewis will open the innings for West Indies. Washington Sundar to open bowling for India.

As always, there are a lot of flamboyance in the Windies batting line-up. Especially the trio of Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer. During the World Cup Chris Gayle told us that Pooran  is the next big thing in West Indies cricket. He even referred him as a ‘Mini Universe Boss’.

As expected, India have won the toss and will be batting first. The ideal way forward on this pitch. It is hot and humid and there are chances of heavy rain in the latter half of the day.  So Virat is trying to controlling the controllable. 

Nevertheless, interesting team selection by India. No KL Rahul in the XI. Remember, he scored a brilliant counter-attacking hundred at this venue in 2016. However, with both Rohit and Shikhar available today, it was actually tough to accommodate Rahul in the top order. And in the middle, people like Pant and Pandey are better suited. In bowling, especially in pace department, all eyes will be on Navdeep and Khaleel.

Meanwhile, resistance from the lower order sees England finish with a first innings total of 374, 90 more than that of the Aussies, on the third day of the first Test of Ashes 2019 at Edgbaston. Follow live updates here .

West Indies XI: John Campbell, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Carlos Brathwaite(c), Sunil Narine, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas

India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli(c), Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant(w), Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Washington Sundar, Navdeep Saini, K Khaleel Ahmed

Carlos Brathwaite, West Indies captain: We wanted to bowl first as well. Now we need to keep wickets in hand as we bat first. Rebuilding for the T20 World Cup. Hope that we peak around the World Cup.

Virat Kohli, India captain: We will bowl. Just good to get on with the game. Life goes on. Pretty fine now. Everybody excited to get to the field. Need to trust the players. We have T20 WC to look out to. We need to start to rebuilding again.

Toss News: Virat Kohli wins toss and India will bowl first.

So, the Indian team is back on the park following the debacle against New Zealand at Old Trafford in the World Cup semi-final. And from this fixture against the world champions (in T20Is) West Indies at Lauderhill, in Florida, Virat Kohli and Co will start their journey toward building a team for the next World T20. There are quite a few youngsters in this Indian team and I hope team management will give them fair opportunities throughout the limited-overs leg of this tour.

The Windies, led by Carlos Brathwaite are a dangerous T20 side. This is the format which suits them. And last time, when India were here in Florida back in 2016, the West Indies had the better of them.

Daren Ganga with Pitch Report: Very bright and sunny today. Dry grass on the pitch. Dark brown in colour which means fair amount of moisture is there. There should be a lateral movement. Spinners should come into play as the pitch may slower as the match progresses.

Across the pond, the English tail is wagging with Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad forging a solid ninth-wicket partnership to rescue the hosts after a middle-order collapse. Click here to follow live updates on Day 3 of the first Test of Ashes 2019.

India begin their tour of USA and Caribbean today. Click here to find the full schedule of three T20Is, three ODIs, two Tests to be played in USA and Caribbean

While MS Dhoni has made himself unavailable for the series, it will be the perfect opportunity for the likes of Shreyas Iyer and Washington Sundar, among others, to prove their worth in cricket’s shortest format.

Here , we look at five players who could make an impact on the upcoming series.

Virat Kohli came in when the Indian cricket team was “looking for a fitness culture” and former strength and conditioning coach Shankar Basu says his stint has ended with the satisfaction that none of the players would be able to “leave the regimen even if they wanted to”. Read the full quotes here .

Virat Kohli encouraged the youngsters to make the most of the opportunity ahead of them in the West Indies series as India look to build for 2020 T20 World Cup. Read the full report here .

As West Indies star Andre Russell was ruled out of the first two T20Is against India, his teammate Carlos Brathwaite said the all-rounder really wanted to ‘show off ‘his skills. Read the full report here .

India begin their preparations for the 2020 T20 World Cup with the series against West Indies and Virat Kohli and Co will take the opportunity to blood in fringe players as they aim to nail down the best unit.

Read full preview by Ujwal Singh here .

Hello and welcome to the coverage of the first T20I of the 3-match series between India and West Indies. After the disappointing end to the World Cup last month, Virat Kohli and Co aim to bounce back and begin a new phase in Indian cricket. ​