India elect to bowl as West Indies make changes for fourth T20I

India won the toss and elected to bowl against West Indies in the fourth T20I in Hyderabad, leading the five-match series 2-1. India retained their playing XI, while West Indies skipper Shai Hope confirmed two changes for the must-win encounter

Hyderabad: India won the toss and elected to bowl against West Indies in the fourth T20I at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

India led the five-match series 2-1 after claiming a crucial win in Indore. The visitors have made two changes to their playing XI, with Kamil Pooran and Sampson left out, while Romario Shepherd comes into the side as the hosts name an unchanged playing XI.

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Skipper Shreyas Iyer opted to bowl first, citing the relaid surface and expecting extra bounce due to its hardness. Acknowledging the threat posed by the West Indies’ destructive batting line-up, Iyer stressed the need to avoid complacency and maintain the same emotional intensity that served the team well in the previous match. India have retained the same playing XI for the encounter.

“We are going to bowl first. That’s one of the major reasons — the relaid surface. We have played on such wickets before. There is going to be bounce as well because the surface is very hard. We know how destructive the West Indies are, so can’t get complacent. The emotions we maintained throughout the last match were good. Same team,” said Iyer after winning the toss.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope said his side would have preferred to bowl first as they look to bounce back in the must-win encounter. Hope emphasised the need to lay a solid foundation and remain clear about their approach while staying open-minded about the conditions.

“We would have fielded as well. It’s a must-win game, so we need to pull this one back. We need to give a foundation, just being clear about how we want to go. We have to wait and see; it looks good. Needs to be open-minded. Two changes for us – Pooran and Sampson are out, Romario and Jewel Andrew are in,” said Hope.

Playing XIs:

West Indies: Shai Hope (wk/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Keemo Paul, Shamar Springer, Gudakesh Motie, Shamar Joseph

India: Sanju Samson (wk), Abhishek Sharma, Ishan Kishan, Shreyas Iyer (c), Tilak Varma, Naman Dhir, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Prince Yadav, Mayank Yadav