India vs West Indies, 1st T20I: Bhuvneshwar, Chahal strike early as Rohit invites Pollard to bat first

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Kolkata, February 16: India skipper Rohit Sharma on Wednesday (February 16) won the toss and elected to field against the West Indies in the opening T20I of the three-match series at Eden Gardens, Kolkata.

Team India handed debut cap to young leg-spinner Ravi Bishnoi in the match and the cricketer from Rajasthan received his debut cap from another fellow wrist-spinner, Yuzvendra Chahal. Bishnoi is the 95th Indian cricketer to make his T20I debut for India.

For the West Indies, Roston Chase is playing in place of Jason Holder, who missed out after getting a hit while training on Tuesday.

After winning the toss, Rohit said, "Looks like we are going to bowl first here. I don't want to comment on the pitch as it has played differently every time we have come here. (Bowling first) gives us a score in mind and how to approach the second half. We have to prepare ourselves with one eye on Australia. We have to keep ticking the boxes and that's been the message to the guys. We have played really well as a team but those little moments in the game is what we have to try and seize.

"Gives us a perfect opportunity to play a quality side like West Indies. They are going to challenge us, so let's see what we can come up with. We are playing with five batters, one all-rounder and two spinners, Ravi Bishnoi is making his debut. We have got three seamers and a few of those guys can bat as well. Yes (Ishan Kishan is opening)," the India captain added further.

After missing the second and third ODI, Kieron Pollard returned as the captain of the West Indies and explained his team's strategy for the match.

"The toss is 50-50, we have to bat and we have to bat well. The body is good. Had a niggle in my left knee, worked with the physio in the gym and let's see what happens tonight. We try to stay in the present, what happened in the weekend is done and dusted. We had a conversation about it, happy for the guys who are selected but the business on hand now is to represent the West Indies.

This is where it counts in international cricket and a lot of these guys are looking for opportunities. We were going with the same XI (as the 5th T20I against England) but we have one forced change; Jason Holder misses out, he got hit in practice yesterday while working on his skills and he hasn't recovered, Roston Chase gets an opportunity. We have to assess the conditions and see what the pitch has to offer," said Pollard.

Playing XIs

India: Ishan Kishan, Rohit Sharma (c), Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant (wk), Venkatesh Iyer, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Harshal Patel, Ravi Bishnoi, Yuzvendra Chahal.

West Indies: Kyle Mayers, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard (capt), Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Fabian Allen, Odean Smith, Akeal Hosein, Sheldon Cottrell.