Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav

West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope(w/c), Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Springer, Shamar Joseph

Cricket commentary | India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, West Indies tour of India, 2026

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Shai Hope: We would have bowled first as well. In India, it's always good to chase. We need to adapt to the conditions, it's different. We have new guys coming and some going out. We just got to play our best cricket. Six bowling options for us, some all-rounders as well.

Shreyas Iyer: We are going to bowl first, it's a mixed soil. There will be some dew as well. Travel was pretty hectic. Came last night, today we have turned up for the game but we are in the zone. They have been fabulous, they have dominated T20 cricket in the last few years. They have got brilliant batting and all-rounders. Looking forward to the contest. Ravi, Nitish, Vaibhav and one more is sitting out, Prince.

@Narper wrote:

India have won the toss and have opted to field

Its a cold one today Narps ....

One deg C with a 30 km wind on the escarpment

Old man winter is on the way.😎

............

Akeal Hosein is set to play his 100th T20I for West Indies, becoming just the fourth WI player to reach the landmark in the format. Listening to him explain his craft, there is something fitting about the echo of aqal - the word for "wisdom" or "intelligence" across some language families - that also happens to be the etymological basis of his first name. He likes having options before he begins a spell, and trusts his instincts once it starts

................

Three days after securing a gold medal at the Asian Games, the Indian T20I side is back at it. Twelve of the 14 players who were part of the Asian Games squad are also in the squad for the West Indies T20Is, and will want to continue their excellent form in the format. I am Ashish Pant and will soon be joined by S Sudarshanan

Licks like peas today...

Where is Voicey ?😔

It is a mix soil wicket, and we don't know how it is going to be. There should be some bounce, and probably some dew as well

The team batting first has won five of the six T20Is at this venue. The only exception was India’s six-wicket win completed off the penultimate ball in a run-chase of 100 against New Zealand in 2023.

@sgtdjones wrote:

Its a cold one today Narps ....

One deg C with a 30 km wind on the escarpment

Old man winter is on the way.😎

frost warning ,,,6C,,,but should warm up nicely this afternoon

WI have left out the premier spinner...

Where is Jangoo?

.............

 Who is Kamil Pooran ( Ka Poo)?

He is 30 and had turned heads in the recently concluded CPL. Kamil made his first-class debut for Trinidad at age 26 and then took four more years to break into the CPL. This CPL season, Kamil finished with 273 runs in eight innings, with a strike-rate boasting close to 160

The other Pooran arrived late but is bossing the CPL powerplay

Almost the same age as Nicholas Pooran and also from Trinidad, Kamil Pooran is the new weapon at the top for St Lucia Kings

@Narper wrote:

Venue: Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, Lucknow

India (Playing XI): Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson(w), Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer(c), Tilak Varma, Shivam Dube, Naman Dhir, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Mayank Yadav

West Indies (Playing XI): Shai Hope(w/c), Kamil Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Roston Chase, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Springer, Shamar Joseph

Cricket commentary | India vs West Indies, 1st T20I, West Indies tour of India, 2026

We need to win a toss

0

Shai Hope and Kamil Pooran are at the crease.

Shai Hope is on strike.

Arshdeep Singh will open the attack

0.2

Arshdeep Singh to Shai Hope, no run, this one comes in sharply from a length and thuds into Hope’s pads. It looks to be high and heading down the leg side, and India briefly consider a review before deciding against it

0.4

4

Arshdeep Singh to Shai Hope, FOUR, to long-off