India vs West Indies Match Prediction: Who will win today's 2nd ODI match?

Did the first ODI between India and West Indies even happen? It seems so, because the second contest of the three-match series is all set to take centerstage in Barbados on Saturday, July 29.

It appears as if the opening game barely transpired not because of the quality of cricket on offer but because the Men in Blue experimented wildly without getting any real takeaways from the game. The encounter featured a couple of notable displays but sorely lacked any structure and grit.

Kuldeep Yadav spun a web around the West Indies batsmen to claim four wickets; Ravindra Jadeja was close behind with three despite an indifferent start to his spell. Mukesh Kumar scalped a wicket on his ODI debut, while Ishan Kishan opened the batting and notched up the only half-century of the low-scoring match.

However, despite these performances, India didn't come any closer to figuring out the solutions to their middle-order problems, nor did their second-string seam attack stand out particularly. West Indies, meanwhile, rolled over meekly and showed just why they missed out on World Cup qualification.

West Indies have won only one of their last 16 ODIs against India and face an uphill battle to overturn the deficit. Can the Men in Maroon get the gears turning and come up with a fighting display? Or will India cruise past them once again?

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India vs West Indies Match Prediction: Rohit Sharma and Co. look to seal series in Barbados

Hardik Pandya and Suryakumar Yadav will want runs under their belt

The pitch in Barbados played into the bowlers' hands in the first ODI. While there was a decent amount of movement and carry with the new ball, the spinners found considerable purchase in the middle overs.

Batting wasn't easy for both sides. If Team India bat first, and they're definitely unlikely to make the same mistake of bowling twice in a row, they'll need to be at their best against a Windies attack that doesn't boast a great deal of star power but has smart operators.

Will the home side be able to step up with the bat, though? If they can take the attack to Hardik Pandya and Mukesh Kumar in the opening powerplay, Rohit Sharma might be forced to turn to his spinners a little earlier than usual. And if that happens, West Indies might be able to generate a few scoring shots early on and put pressure on the opposition.

Strategy is one thing, and execution is another. Shai Hope's men haven't been able to execute any of their plans well over the last few months, and their form in the format has been nothing short of woeful.

While India looked a bit shaky themselves in the first ODI, they are clearly the better side even though they're without quite a few first-choice stars. Moreover, if they tone down the experimentation, they will be in a better place to seal the series.

The visitors are the clear favorites to chalk up another victory.

Prediction: India to win the 2nd ODI vs West Indies.