India wins toss and opts to bowl in first ODI against West Indies

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THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, India (AP) — Shubman Gill called the coin toss correctly and India opted to bowl against West Indies in the first of three ODIs on Sunday.

Guwahati and Chandigarh will host the second and third ODIs on Wednesday and Saturday, followed by a five-match T20 series starting Oct. 6.

Star batters Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return for India. The duo only feature in this format on the international stage, having previously retired from both tests and T20s.

Batting all-rounder Naman Dhir makes his ODI debut for India. Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are the other two spin options for the hosts, who have also picked three pace options in Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and all-rounder Nitish Reddy.

West Indies opted for a pace-heavy attack with Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph and Matthew Forder in as the fast bowlers, along with two medium-pace options. Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie are the spinners.

The pitch at Greenfield International Stadium should aid batters through the game. The venue last hosted an ODI in January 2023, when India beat Sri Lanka by 317 runs.

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Line-ups:

West Indies: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (captain), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (captain), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna

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