So that's it from our live blog then, phew! You can find the
Toss and teams
India bowl first; "Good wicket. Ball comes on much better in the evening," says Kohli. Windies wanted to do the same, Holder admits. India's bowling attack now consists of Bhuvneshwar, Bumrah and Khaleel Ahmed, latter replacing Umesh Yadav in the Playing XI. For the Windies, Devendra Bishoo has been replaced by Fabian Allen, who will be making his debut.
While we wait..
- Why don't you stretch your feet and read this from Aayush: When life throws a cricket ball at you.... He's drawn a noice parallel between lemons and cricket balls (besides analyzing with Stuart Law the context of this India tour for so many young West Indian players)
- Also recommended is Kritika Naidu storying how Hope and Hetmyer gatecrashed Kohli's party in Vizag.
Let's build it up!
There's certain delight in losing to the West Indies. If it was the why and wherefore of your existence in the 80s, making for good water-cooler discussions on how "they beat us too!", losing to the West Indies borders on accidental magnanimity now, where you're manipulated by the universe to eternalize the country that's boastfully cricket's teenage love.
All that's alright because the world loves cricket, but you know what, they also love the World Cup. India see no pride to losing to the West Indies - not eight months before the 2019 World Cup! - and have reasonably brought back Jasprit Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar Kumar to ensure that this young opposition doesn't bowl them over in the series. Panic? Maybe just about as much as the bread in your pizza.
If you found the build-up dramatic, here's a more theatrical match preview by Aayush Puthran, who will be sending us regular updates from Pune today. "Very little is known about the pitch today," he pings, "because the ever-approachable veteran Pandurang Salgaonkar is now wary of any discussions, with the media or strangers, after serving a 6-month ban for not reporting a corrupt approach as a pitch curator."