Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni
With the stage set for the India vs West Indies ODI in Vizag on 24 October, the cricket fans in the city have already moved into a state of frenzy. The tickets for the game will be going on sale soon and with the BCCI announcing the squad for the first two ODIs, the fans surely seem to be in for something special.
After being rested for the Asia Cup, superstar Virat Kohli will once again be seen leading his troops in the ODI series. Kohli, who is fast emerging as a modern-day batting colossus, holds fond memories in Vizag. Back in 2010, it was his match-winning century against Australia here that helped India clinch the series. To go with this, the 29-year-old has also scored a Test century and a couple of fifties at the Dr Y.S Rajasekhar Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vizag.
Veteran cricketer MS Dhoni is expected to handle the duty behind the stumps in the limited overs format. One of India’s favourite cricketing sons, Dhoni scored his belligerent maiden century against Pakistan in Vizag. It was this innings of his that paved way for his genius to be recognised.
High-calibre players, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan, will once again assume their duties of opening the batting in the India vs West Indies ODI series. While Rohit Sharma too played a few memorable knocks in Vizag, Shikhar Dhawan made his ODI debut here in the city in 2010.
Other star players, who are expected to thrill the Vizag audience include Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chala among others.
The cricket match was originally supposed to be played at the Holkar stadium in Indore. However, a dispute between the BCCI and the Madhya Pradesh Cricket Board over complementary tickets called for a change of venue.
Visakhapatnam last played host to an ODI between India and Sri Lanka in December 2017. The game witnessed Shikhar Dhawan batter the Islanders with a blistering century as the home side cruised home to victory.
West Indies will play 5 ODIs against India starting on 21 October. The first cricket match in the 50-over format will be played in Guwahati. The two teams have currently locked horns in a two-match Test series, which began on 4 October in Rajkot.
India vs West Indies ODI team for the first 2 games:
Virat Kohli (c), MS Dhoni, Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Ambati Rayudu, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Khaleel Ahmed, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
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