Predicting 3 players who would score the most runs in the 1st T20I between IND and WI

After winning the ODIs, Team India will now square off against the West Indies in a five-match T20I series. The first match is scheduled to be played at the Brian Lara Stadium in Trinidad on Thursday.

Overall, India and the West Indies have locked horns with each other 25 times in the shortest format. The Men in Blue have won 17 times while losing on seven occasions. Moreover, they have won the last five bilateral series against the Windies.

The upcoming series presents an opportunity for a lot of youngsters to showcase their potential as both teams audition for the 2024 T20 World Cup.

The last ODI at this venue saw the Men in Blue rack up 351 runs, with as many as four batters scoring half-centuries. The ball came on nicely onto the bat as the batters were able to play their shots through the line.

The wicket in Trinidad is likely to remain the same and another high-scoring contest beckons fans. On that note, let's take a look at three batters who could score the most runs in the first T20I between India and West Indies.

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#1 Ishan Kishan

The wicketkeeper-batter looked in blistering form in the recently concluded three-match ODI series, finishing as the highest run-scorer. Ishan Kishan smashed 184 runs in three matches at an average of 61.33 and a strike rate of 111.52, smashing three half-centuries in the process.

The left-handed batter will hope to keep up the good form in the upcoming T20I rubber. Given the form he is in, if Ishan can get his eye in, he is likely to play a big innings in the first match.

The Jharkhand-born cricketer smashed a 64-ball 77, a knock laced with eight boundaries and three sixes, in the third ODI at this venue.

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#2 Nicholas Pooran

The hard-hitting wicketkeeper-batter is coming off a successful campaign in the inaugural edition of the Major League Cricket (MLC). Nicholas Pooran powered MI New York to the title with a blistering unbeaten 137-run knock off just 55 balls with the aid of 10 boundaries and 13 sixes. Riding on his knock, New York chased down 184 runs in just 16 overs to clinch the title.

Pooran will hope to keep up the form and lead the batting unit as the West Indies look to shrug off their failures in the ICC ODI World Cup Qualifiers.

The Trinidad-born cricketer has had a sedate outing in T20Is this year, scoring 59 runs in three games, and will look to better his record in the upcoming series.

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#3 Shubman Gill

After a string of low scores, Shubman Gill finally got his mojo back in the last ODI at the Brian Lara Stadium. The right-handed batter was India's highest scorer in deciding fixture, scoring 85 runs off 91 deliveries, including 11 boundaries.

Gill will hope to carry on the momentum and retain his place in the side. A couple of failures here could see him lose his opener's slot of Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is waiting in the wings after a successful IPL campaign with the Rajasthan Royals (RR).

Since his T20I debut against Sri Lanka earlier this year, Gill has looked good with the bat, scoring 202 runs, including a century, at an average of 40.40.