India vs West Indies 1st ODI: Naman Dhir makes his India debut; Shubman Gill wins the toss, opts to bowl at Thiruvananthapuram

Naman Dhir makes his debut for India (Image: BCCI) Naman Dhir will make his ODI debut for India after skipper Shubman Gill won the toss and elected to bowl first against West Indies in the opening ODI of the series at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.Dhir was handed his first ODI cap as India look to start the three-match series with a win. The Indian team also included Gurnoor Brar while Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad and KL Rahul feature in the playing XI.Gill explained that India preferred to chase what looked like a decent batting surface.“We’ll be bowling first, it looks like a decent surface. It’ll be better under the lights, so want to chase it. We’ve got a decent combination, four bowlers and two all-rounders. We’ve got 20 odd games in the World Cup, so it’s good for us to test the combination,” Gill said after winning the toss.West Indies captain Shai Hope also said his team would prefer to bowl first as he expected the surface to improve under the lights.“We’ll go bowling first, it looks like a decent surface. It’ll go better in the light, so give it a shot,” said Hope.

India vs West Indies 1st ODI: Playing XI

India Playing XI: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (c), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (w), Naman Dhir, Ravindra Jadeja, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Gurnoor Brar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh KrishnaWest Indies Playing XI: John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (w/c), Amir Jangoo, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales

India opted to bowl despite a batting friendly pitch

The pitch report suggested that the conditions could favor the batsmen at the Greenfield International Stadium. The surface is made of black Mandya clay from neighboring Karnataka and has a hard surface with minimal grass cover. According to the pitch report, the hard surface should allow the ball to hit the bat nicely, while the limited grass is expected to reduce lateral movement for seamers.The boundary of the square measures about 65 meters on either side, while the straight boundary is approximately 74 meters.The course is also expected to offer extra bounce due to the nature of the black clay. With little grass on the surface, the ball is expected to pass to the bat and not lose energy after being pitched.