Things are heating up at Cricket World Cup 2019, as teams are battling it out to reach the semi-finals. India would want to beat the Windies and punch their ticket of Semifinals, on the other hand, Windies are almost out of the reckoning of the semi-finals after they lost a nail-biting contest by just 5 runs.
Rain forces team India to practice at Indoor Nets
Rain seems to be following team India a lot, as once again their practice session got hampered because of persistent rain at Manchester on Tuesday. The captain Virat Kohli was seen practicing for fast bowlers as well spinners and looked in control throughout his net session. The new no.4 of Vijay Shankar was also seen practicing against the short balls and was also using his feet while playing spin. Bhuvneshwar Kumar who got injured during the game against Pakistan was also seen taking part in the practice session. Bhuvi was seen bowling a few overs and it looked as if the pacer is very close to his full fitness.
Bhuvi or Bumrah?
The injury to Bhuvi is not that serious and the management said they just did not want to take any more chances with players injury. Bhuvi looked fit and raring to go in the practice session and Bhuvi being fit would mean that India will have to make a tough choice between Shami and him. Shami picked a brilliant hat-trick against Afghanistan and helped India win a close match. On the other hand, Bhuvi also bowled beautifully against Australia and picked two crucial wickets in the same over when the match was in a tight situation.
The little master Sachin Tendulkar has backed Bhuvi ahead of Shami. Tendulkar said that he would want Bhuvi in the side as it would make India a more balanced side. Bhuvi is a capable batsman and can score handy runs at 8, and if the conditions are overcast he would be all over the opposition and keep plugging away at one end. It would be very interesting to see whether India plays Shami or brings back Bhuvneshwar in the mix straight away. Shami might just play ahead of him as the team would not want to take any chances with Bhuvi as the Tournament is entering into its business end.
Head To Head In World Cups: India vs West Indies
India 4 - West Indies 3
India leads with 4 wins to Windies 3, in their head to head in the World cup.
The two sides have always played competitive games in every game of the world cup against each other. Team India will be confident against the Windies as they have never been beaten by the men from the Carribean since the 1992 world cup. And given the current form, India will go into the contest as favourites.
The first match between the two sides was played way back in 1979, in which Windies defeated India by 9 wickets. Then in 1983 World Cup which India won the two sides clashed three times in England. India won two games including the all-important World Cup final. India defeated Windies by 43 runs in the finals at Lord’s and lifted the World Cup for the very first time. The last time West Indies defeated India was in a round robin match in the 1992 World Cup at Wellington by 5 wickets. Since then it’s all been India as the men in blue has dominated the West Indies side in the World Cup. The two sides last faced each other at Perth in the 2015 World Cup in which India chased down the target easily in the end and registered an easy win in the end by 4 wickets.
Will Captain Kohli go past 20,000 International runs
The Indian Skipper Virat Kohli is no stranger to breaking records in international cricket as records seem to follow every time he steps on the cricket field. Against Windies, at Manchester, if Kohli makes another 37 runs he will become the quickest batsman in history to score a mind-boggling 20,000 runs. He will also be looking to make a century in England as he has made 11 fifties since 2011 in England but is yet to convert one into a hundred.
Players to Look Out For: India and Windies
India
Jasprit Bumrah: The number one ODI bowler Bumrah, will be looking to continue his good form in the World Cup. He has been the go-to man for his captain and has always put his hand up when Indian has needed Wickets.
Rohit Sharma: It is not often that Rohit Sharma misses out in two back to back matches in white ball cricket. After getting out cheaply the highest run-getter of India in the World Cup will be looking to score another Ton at Manchester.
Windies
Chris Gayle: You just cannot ignore the universal boss as he still has the capability of taking the game away from his opponents. Gayle has shown glimpses of form in the World Cup but somehow has been unable to convert his starts. The match against India just might be that and he may entertain the fans with his stroke play and big sixes.
Carlos Braithwaite: Then man from Barbados almost won the game single-handedly for his side against New Zealand. He scored a sublime century and gave Windies something to cheer about in what has been a disappointing World Cup for them. India will have to be wary of Braithwaite as he can make the difference with both bat and ball.
