India vs West Indies 2019, 1st ODI: Preview, predicted XI, weather forecast, pitch report, head-to-head stats and where to watch

After the thrilling series win in Mumbai, the Indian and West Indian teams will lock horns again in Chennai, to kick-off the ODI series. The final T20I saw the full potential of the Indian top 3, and it resulted in absolute carnage. While the Indians did face some recurring issues in the form of poor fielding and ordinary bowling, they will be quite satisfied with their performance in the third T20, as they coasted to a clinical victory.

The West Indians, on the other hand, will look to put the past behind them. They performed much better than expected in the T20 series and will be hoping the strong performances translate into victory in the ODIs. Their ODI squad features a bolstered batting and bowling attack, featuring the likes of Shai Hope and Alzarri Joseph.

Even though the current Windies side is the strongest it's been in the recent past, they will find it very difficult to bat on the slow Chennai pitch. T20 is their strongest format, yet they were unable to bag the series. Hence, the Indians are clear favourites to take the series.

Here's everything you need to know about the first ODI:

Also see – World Test Championship points table

Match Details

Venue: M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

Date: 15th December 2019

Time: 1:30 PM, IST

Weather Forecast

The weather may prove to be a spoilsport on Sunday as there is a 5% chance of precipitation during the day and a 56% chance in the evening. However, rain is not forecast for more than 30 minutes, so the match will not be abandoned even if it does rain. One can expect the Duckworth-Lewis System to come into play though.

Pitch Report

The pitch at the M.A.Chidambaram Stadium has typically been a slow turner. Spinners have time and again prospered, while batsmen have found it difficult to score runs. Expect the Indian spinners to wreak havoc on the Windies batsmen, who are rather unfamiliar with good spin bowling.

Head-to-Head Statistics

Out of the 128 times the two teams have locked horns since 1979, the West Indies are narrowly ahead, winning 50.31% of the games.

Matches Played: 128 | India: 61 | West Indies: 62 | Tied: 2 | No Result : 3

Predicted Playing XI

India

Considering the nature of the pitch in Chennai, the team management may opt for an extra spinner in the XI in Kuldeep Yadav.

Predicted Playing XI: Rohit Sharma (VC), KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishab Pant (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal.

West Indies

With Evin Lewis battling a bad knee injury, Brandon King will most probably open the batting along with Shai Hope.

Predicted Playing XI: Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Khary Pierre, Jason Holder, Roston Chase, Hayden Walsh Jr., Sheldon Cotrell, Alzarri Joseph.

Where to watch

The first ODI will be broadcasted on Star Sports 1, Star Sports HD 1, Star Sports Hindi, and Star Sports Hindi 1. The match can also be live streamed on hotstar.com