India take on the West Indies in the first of a three-match T20I series at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday, November 4.
When does the match start and how to watch it live
The first T20I will start at 7 pm local time and 2:30 pm BST.
Star Sports 1, Star Sports Tamil and Star Sports Hindi will provide live television coverage of the match in India. The live stream will be available on Hotstar and Jio TV.
1st T20I preview
After losing the Test and the ODI series, West Indies are all set to challenge the hosts in a format wherein they have found a lot of success.
The visitors have beaten India in five of their seven meetings in T20Is ā a comforting stat that should give the new-look West Indies a lot of confidence. The visitors though have struggled in their favourite format in the ongoing year, managing only two wins from nine matches so far.
Carlos Brathwaite has been tasked with the responsibility of helping West Indies finish the year on a high. The man who helped the Caribbeans win their second World T20 title with a spectacular final-over-flourish in 2016 at the Eden Gardens will be hoping his favourite venue brings him and his team luck.
West Indies have suffered a major blow as they will be missing their all-rounder, Andre Russell. The Kolkata Knight Riders star, a crowd favourite at the Eden Gardens, has been ruled out of the entire series with an injury.
India set for the post-Dhoni era in T20Is
On the other hand, India are all set to play a T20I match at home without MS Dhoni for the first time. With the selectors deciding to look ahead, the veteran wicketkeeper's time in T20I is all but over.
Wicketkeeper-batsmen Rishabh Pant and Dinesh Karthik have been named in the 12-man squad but the Delhi Daredevils youngster, who had set Indian Premier League 2018 on fire, is all set to don the gloves.
All-rounder Krunal Pandya, who has been consistent in IPL over the years, is in the squad and is likely to make his international debut today if India decide to go in with a third spinner. Khaleel Ahmed, who impressed in the ODI series, is also in contention for his maiden T20I cap.
Probable playing XIs - 1st T20I
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik, Krunal Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal.
West Indies: Carlos Brathwaite (c), Rovman Powell, Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas, Obed McCoy.
Pitch and conditions
Given the small size of the boundaries at Eden Gardens, expect a lot of runs in Sunday's encounter. The humidity is expected to be high and there will be a bit of dew as well throughout the match.
TV Guide
- USA: Hotstar
- Middle East: OSN Cricket
- Australia: Fox Sports
