India v West Indies: Sammy's young guns can surprise India

ODI preview / Andrew Hughes / 27 November 2011 /

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Barath has an excellent record in Asia

"Darren Sammy and Otis Gibson are fostering a strong team spirit and the side is full of young, talented match winning batsmen..."

India may be the reigning World Cup holders, but Andrew Hughes thinks an improving West Indies team can upset the odds in Tuesday's first one day international.

November 29, India v West Indies, Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, 08:55 GMT (Live on Sky Sports 1)

Team News
M S Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar have been rested for this series, Yuvraj Singh has withdrawn from the squad due to illness and there is still no place for Harbhajan Singh. That means Virender Sehwag will be captain on his return to the one day side and will open alongside Ajinkya Rahane, whilst Gautam Gambhir continues at three. Parthiv Patel will take the gloves and with two specialist spinners, it will be between Varun Aaron and Umesh Yadav for the third seamer's position.

The West Indies have a choice of four openers, but it is likely to be Lendl Simmons and Adrian Barath who get the nod, with one of Keiran Powell and Danza Hyatt retained to strengthen the batting order. Among the fast bowlers, one of the three Rs (Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell and Kemar Roach) will miss out and the specialist spinner position is likely to go to Anthony Martin ahead of Sunil Narine.

Venue and Conditions
The Barabati Stadium boasts one of the slowest scoring rates in India and in 15 one day internationals at the venue, only once has a team has passed 300. We can expect a slow-paced dusty track on which the occasional delivery will hold up and it is worth noting that 3 of the 4 day night games have been won by the team batting second, which could be down to the evening dew factor.

Match Odds
India are a tough proposition at home, as their recent 5-0 demolition of England demonstrated. But, without their talismanic captain and missing some key players, they aren't particularly appealing at [1.4] and I'm going to side with the tourists to spring a surprise. The West Indies are improving in the fifty over format, having won 6 of their last 10 and have a good record against these opponents, winning 6 of the 13 one day internationals they've played against India on Indian soil this century.

Darren Sammy and Otis Gibson are fostering a strong team spirit and the side is full of young, talented match winning batsmen such as Darren Bravo, Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons and Kieron Pollard. With plenty of bowlers who can take the pace off the ball, ideal on Asian wickets, the tourists are capable of winning at least one of these games and I'll be backing them to win at [3.4]

Top Indian Batsman
With the responsibility of captaincy, Virender Sehwag may not be at his carefree best and Gambhir doesn't have a great record in his two appearances at this venue, so I'll be siding with the underrated Virat Kohli at [5.5]. He topped the averages in one day series against England and will be high on confidence after two half-centuries in Mumbai.

Top West Indian Batsman
Lendl Simmons and Marlon Samuels were the stars of the Bangladesh series, but Simmons may be rusty after sitting out the Test series and in preference to Samuels, I'm going with Adrian Barath. A confident young player, he averages a touch under 49 in Asian conditions, twice as much as on home soil and he has the advantage of batting while the ball is still hard. He can be backed at [5.5]

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