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HEADLINE: Preview: BANvWI 1st T20I

 
CaribbeanCricket.com 2018-12-16 18:42:48 

It’s over to Carlos Brathwaite as the West Indies embark upon the final leg of their subcontinent tour when the first of three T20Is bowls off in Sylhet on Monday morning. The visitors will welcome back specialist opener—Evin Lewis, after he missed the tour of India due to personal reasons; also returning to the team are Sheldon Cottrell and Kesrick Williams. Having hosted seven previous T20Is, Sylhet will entertain just it’s second of 2018, the previous six having come back in 2014 during the ICC World Twenty20. Windies’ full squad reads: Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Fabian Allen, Kesrick Williams, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Evin Lewis, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Shai Hope, Sherfane Rutherford, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas.

The visitors will have much to prove as they set out to accomplish what they failed to do in the ODIs—avenge their home series defeat to Bangladesh. With the lack of a specialist opener being a major talking point from the Indian tour (T20I series), West Indies will be happy to have the services of Lewis at their disposal: with Shai Hope expected to resume opening duties alongside the Trinidadian.

After making a statement against India in the final T20I with a blistering 53 from 25 deliveries not not, Nicholas Pooran went on to dominate the 2018 T10 Cricket League 2018; in 9 innings the left-hander accumulated 324 runs at an average of 54 with a strike rate of 245.45. Much will rest on the shoulders of the 23-year-old in the Windies middle-order. Hetmyer will be hoping that with a change of format comes a change of fortunes as the Guyanese failed to make an impact in the just-concluded ODI series. While Oshane Thomas should be back as the “main man” after being left out of the last ODI. The match bowls off at 2:30 am (ECT).

Predicted XI: Evin Lewis, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Nicholas Pooran, Carlos Brathwaite (cpt), Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Oshane Thomas.


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