After thrashing Bangladesh in whites, India are all set to take on West Indies in a three-match T20I series. The first clash will be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium on December 6. Both the sides will eye to get off to a good start and get momentum on their side. The Indian side are going through a purple patch in international cricket and will step as favourites into the upcoming series. However, West Indies are the defending World T20 champions and hence can’t be taken lightly. The encounter in Hyderabad is expected to witness some individual clashes and below we’ll be focusing some such battles. India Vs West Indies, Cricket Score 1st T20I Match.

Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been the pillars of Indian batting line-up and are often crashing prestigious records every now and then. The duo will certainly be looking to extend their great form and the Caribbeans must vary them. For West Indies, skipper Kieron Pollard of Indian Premier League and is quite familiar with the sub-continental conditions. Along with that, young guns like Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran have also proved their mettle at the highest level and will seek to put up good show against the Men in Blue. Talking about the match, let’s look at some mini-battles which can be witnessed in the 1st India vs West Indies T20I. India vs West Indies, 1st T20I 2019, Key Players: Rohit Sharma, Jason Holder, Deepak Chahar and Other Cricketers to Watch Out for in Hyderabad.

KL Rahul vs Sheldon Cottrell

In absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Rahul will open the Indian innings and will eye to give his side a spectacular start. He mustered a scintillating half-century in the last T20I he played against Bangladesh and will aim to continue his good run. He will be challenged by Carribbran pacer Sheldon Cottrell who has been his side’s leading bowler in limited-overs cricket and will seek to dismiss the opener as soon as possible. ‘

Yuzvendra Chahal vs Shimron Hetmyer

Chahal, who is India’s fastest bowler to scalp 50 T20I wickets, will handle the spin department for the Men in Blue and will certainly possess a great threat to the visitors. He generally comes to bowl in the middle-overs where he is likely to face Hetmyer, who has the ability to clear any ground in the world. The two shared dressing rooms for Royal Challengers Bengaluru in IPL 2019 and it will be interesting to see, who will dominate this contest.

 Rishabh Pant vs Jason Holder

A lot will be in stakes for Rishabh Pant when he will take the field in the first T20I of the series. The southpaw is going through a bad form and will like to end it in the Hyderabad encounter itself. However, Windies pacer Jason Holder will not want to see his blitz and will try to dismiss the left-handed batsman as soon as possible. The pacer has been brilliant in his last few T20 matches let’s see if Pant can get better of him or not.

In the last T20I series played between these two sides, the Men in Blue completely dominated the Calypso Kings and defeated them 2-0 in the three-match series with one encounter being washed out. With the ICC T20 World Cup 2020 being less than a year away, both sides will seek to strengthen their squad and identify their best XI.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Dec 05, 2019 07:25 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).