Clash of batting heavyweights

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With eyes firmly set on a semi-final berth, a confident India will seek to keep the momentum going when they take on an unpredictable West Indies in a crucial Group B match of the ICC Champions Trophy at the Oval on Tuesday.
Both the teams have won their opening group matches in contrasting fashion, and know well that a win on Tuesday will almost guarantee a spot in the last four stage of the tournament, being held for the last time. The clash will be a battle between many players who have solid ‘knowledge’ of each other. Having just played the IPL, India and the West Indies are studded with key players who are aware of each other’s strengths and weaknesses.
Interestingly, rival captains Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Dwayne Bravo are Chennai Super Kings teammates while Virat Kohli and Chris Gayle turned out for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
In-form West Indian batsman Marlon Samuels has already sounded the warning bells, saying the Caribbeans will look the Indians in the eye and have the arsenal to rattle them in English conditions.
From an overall team perspective and build-up, India look stronger on paper. Their batting looks in awesome form with three back-to-back 300-plus scores in conditions where the ball has done a bit early in the innings. But application and pitch occupation will be crucial. India’s opening pair of Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma blunted South Africa’s pace attack with a match-winning 127-run stand in the tournament’s opening game.
And it is unlikely that India will disturb Cardiff’s winning combination that saw Dinesh Karthik promoted to no. 4 and Dhoni up at no. 5 ahead of Suresh Raina. On the other hand, in spite of their enormous potential, the West Indies remain a fickle lot.
The fact that they left out Test captain and all-rounder Darren Sammy from the playing XI against Pakistan reflected the team’s depth and confidence, but the batting frailties surfaced as the Caribbeans escaped with a two-wicket victory while chasing a modest 170 against Pakistan.
West Indies have the experience and the talent to give the Indians a run for their money.