West Indies vs India, 1st ODI - Live Cricket Score, Commentary

Toss and teams:

Windies skipper Jason Holder has won the toss and decided to bowl. India have made three changes to the line-up that faced Pakistan a few days back. Kuldeep Yadav is playing his maiden ODI, replacing Ravindra Jadeja. Ajinkya Rahane and Umesh Yadav included in place of Rohit Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah, who are both rested for this tour. For the home team, Devendra Bishoo features in their eleven while Rovman Powell misses out.

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav

Windies (Playing XI): Evin Lewis, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope(w), Jason Mohammed, Roston Chase, Jonathan Carter, Jason Holder(c), Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph, Miguel Cummins

Pitch Report:

"There is real moisture on the wicket. Don't expect the wicket to dry out very very quickly. The wicket at Port of Spain is going to be two paced. For some strange reasons the pitch generally tends to spin more in the first innings. If you win the toss, have a bowl," says Jeff Dujon.

Team News:

India have included Rishabh Pant and Kuldeep Yadav in their squad for the five-match series against Windies. Will Kohli and whatever's left of the team management decide to go in with the youngsters straight away? The hosts named a 13-man squad for the first two ODIs, without Shannon Gabriel who is out injured. They should go in with the same side that played in the third ODI against Afghanistan. We'll know all that in a short while. Stay tuned for the toss and team updates.

Build-up: Problems of different kinds for India and West Indies

In July 2016, Anil Kumble's first assignment as the head coach of the Indian cricket team was the trip to the Caribbean for the Test series. This was the start of a successful partnership between the former India captain and the current superstar of Indian cricket - Virat Kohli. It was a glorious run that included Test victories against New Zealand, England, Bangladesh and Australia, along with ODI series wins against New Zealand and England. Apart from a T20I series loss to West Indies and a upset in the Champions Trophy final, everything was going swimmingly for India under the new regime, or so everyone thought.

Back in West Indies for a limited-overs series, form isn't a concern for India but the off-field issues have been receiving all the front-page attention. Kumble is no longer the coach, having decided to step down after the captain had 'reservations with his style (of coaching)'. The India captain did not speak about the matter during his pre-match addressal in West Indies, and although the team will be keen to deflect the focus to their on-field performances, the episode isn't going to die down soon.

Meanwhile, for Windies, the time is running out for their bid to earn a direct qualification for the 2019 50-over World Cup. Currently ranked No. 9 with 77 points, 13 points behind the eighth-placed Sri Lanka, West Indies not only need to win all their five matches against India, but also hope for Sri Lanka to lose to Zimbabwe in their upcoming series to stand a chance of qualification.

Things haven't gone well for Windies, whose best result in an ODI series since January 2016 is their recent 1-1 draw against Afghanistan. Losses against Australia, Sri Lanka, England and twice against Pakistan has left Windies cricket in complete disarray and going by their recent performances, things do not appear too promising against a strong team like India, who despite all their off-field problems, won't let it affect their cricket.

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