India v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760: 1st ODI at Cuttack – Indian batsmen to watch out for
After crushing West Indies in the Test competition, the Indians would look to continue their dominance when they take on the tourists in the first game of the five-ODI series at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack, on Tuesday, November 29, 2011.
Without a shadow of doubt, Team India is a strong One-Day side, and will aim for nothing else but a 5-0 whitewash. In order to inflict pressure on the Caribbean Kings, the Men in Blue are expected to come hard with the bat in the series opener.
With a strong line-up including http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Sehwag-c2739, Suresh Raina and Virat Kohli, the home side is well capable of beating West Indies, provided the batting stalwarts play to their potential.
Virender Sehwag
The captain, Sehwag, will be an important man in the absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MS-Dhoni-c2028 - India’s regular captain in all three forms of the sport. The man is famous for his aggression and attacking style of play, as he can destroy any bowling attack with
his belligerent batting show.
Having missed out on the recent ODI clash against the Englishmen, the opening batsman returned to the side in the just-concluded Test battle against the Windies. Although, he was not able to hit a massive innings, the 33-year-old http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Delhi-c780 batsman looked
good at the wicket, as he smashed three quick half-centuries.
The talented batsman has captained Team http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 in seven ODI so far, but he is yet to score a fifty as the leader of the crew. At an average of 35.11, the right-hander has piled up 7760 runs in his 236 matches.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SK-Raina-c2539
The classy left-handed batsman has been enjoying great form these days, as he recently lashed a double hundred in a domestic game. He is an aggressive batsman, but knows how to go back to his shell when it comes to play steadily.
Since he plays attacking cricket, Raina’s batting technique is perfect for a batsman who bats low down the order. Dhoni will not be there for the big hits in the death overs, and therefore Raina is a crucial player in the Indian lower middle-order.
He was not a part of the Test side that hammered West Indies, but the 25-year-old batsman would not take much time to settle down, as he kept on playing first-class cricket during the last few weeks. So far in his career, Raina has played in 130 matches,
scoring 3172 runs at a fabulous average of 35.64.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/V-Kohli-c2737
Kohli is perhaps India’s best ODI batsman after Sehwag. The stylish right-hander does not stop playing his natural games even in pressure situations. His ability to score runs at a quick pace makes him different from the rest of the players in the
strong Indian middle-order.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Yuvraj-Singh-c98364 is not in the troop because of his health issues, Kohli will have to take
responsibility in the middle-order and play an anchor role in the crucial first encounter. In 69 matches, the 23-year-old has 2617 runs to his credit at a fine average of over-45.
Even without http://www.senore.com/Cricket/SR-Tendulkar-c2556, Yuvraj and Dhoni, the batting department will be India’s main strength. However, the fans will have to wait and see how these masters perform against a resilient Caribbean bowling attack.
Tags: