‘India vs West Indies’ set to ignite Florida with intense T20I action

By Brandon Corlette in Florida

Baggage delays and visa issues were bugbears prior to the start of the much-anticipated Florida T20Is, but thanks to hard work from Cricket West Indies and the timely intervention of the President of Guyana, His Excellency Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, those respective issues have been overcome.
On the eve of the fourth T20 International match between the West Indies and India, the atmosphere has been saturated with expectation, and hundreds were present at the Central Broward Stadium in Fort Lauderdale to witness both teams practise. A sold-out crowd is expected to attend these epic encounters, and the small outfield promises to produce runs when the first ball bowls off at 10:30h local time.

This series will be the last one before both teams announce their squads for the T20 World Cup in Australia this October. With India leading the five-match Series 2-1, West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has said his team would start winning games consistently with the more games played together.

“The more games we play as a unit, we will get better. King is scoring half-centuries, I made some runs as well, but everyone is playing their roles on the team, so it is not about individuals. It is about everyone doing exactly what the team is needed at the moment. We have not been getting the wins. Winning and losing (are) contagious. As a team, we are doing a lot of right things, and hopefully we can win games,” Pooran said on the eve of the match.

Sharing his sentiments on the surface, Pooran said the pitch looks really good. “Nice to bat on, there is a win factor. It is a bit hot, but we are accustomed to the sun, and the venue looks beautiful,” Pooran noted.
In the areas of improvement, Pooran said the team must understand they have to fight harder in tough moments, especially with the bat.
Meanwhile, India’s designated finisher, Denish Karthik, has said it is important for West Indies to close out this series. “We all know how good West Indies (are), but having said that, I feel one of the key things that have been told to us is that we did not adapt to the conditions as quickly as we wanted. But here in (Florida), we will make an effort to try, play, and understand the conditions, and then put up a good performance here,” Karthik has said.
The last time West Indies beat India in any series was at this same ground in 2016, when they won the two-match T20I Series 1-0, with one match being washed out. Rohit Sharma has been seen practising on the eve of this match, after he had suffered a back spasm in the third T20I in St Kitts.
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Nicholas Pooran (captain), Rovman Powell (vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Devon Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
INDIA – Rohit Sharma (capt), Ishan Kishan, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Shreyas Iyer, Dinesh Karthik, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravi Bishnoi, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Avesh Khan, Harshal Patel, Arshdeep Singh.