Kensington Oval Pitch Report India will face West Indies in the 2nd ODI of the series at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on 29 July, 7:00 PM IST onwards. India won the first ODI, but their quick loss of 5 wickets raised concerns about the youngsters’ temperament. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav’s wrist work led to 7 crucial wickets for India, while Gudakesh Motie and Yannic Cariah’s bowling were positives for West Indies. West Indies can make a comeback if key batters like Brandon King and Kyle Mayers show resilience against Indian spinners.
Also read: Kuldeep Yadav happy to have competition with ‘senior’ Yuzvendra Chahal
Kensington Oval Pitch Report
The opening match showcased the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown as a cricket pitch that strongly favors the bowlers. Evidently, the historical statistics reveal that batting first at this venue has been a challenging task, with an average score of 239, indicating a constant struggle for the batters. The pitch’s slow nature further amplifies the bowlers’ prowess, making it an ideal surface for both teams’ bowling units to exploit.
Given the prevailing conditions and the past performance trends, the captain who wins the toss is highly likely to elect to bowl first. This strategic decision stems from the advantage it offers to the chasing team, as they get an opportunity to closely observe the pitch’s behavior and plan their batting approach accordingly, having a clearer idea of the target they need to achieve.
As a result of the venue’s characteristics, the outcome of matches played here has been relatively balanced, with teams batting second winning 26 out of the 45 ODIs held so far, while 19 victories have been secured by teams setting a target while batting first.
Squads
India: Rohit Sharma(c), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson(w), Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jaydev Unadkat, Mukesh Kumar, Shardul Thakur, Axar Patel, Ishan Kishan, Ruturaj Gaikwad
West Indies: Shai Hope(w/c), Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Shimron Hetmyer, Alick Athanaze, Rovman Powell, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Oshane Thomas, Jayden Seales, Kevin Sinclair, Dominic Drakes, Yannic Cariah
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