1st ODI live: Rohit, Virat return in Thiruvananthapuram. Toss at 1.30 pm
Hello and welcome to our live coverage of the first ODI between India and the West Indies from Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapurram.
India have won toss and opted to bowl first.
Punjab's Naman Dhir makes India debut in Trivandrum. We will update you with more background on him right after the toss.
Is it toss time at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram.
There will be no dew on the ground today, and if there is, the anti-dew spray will take care of it.
Whoever wins toss will be looking to bat first and see off the first 10 overs.
There were some questions about the weather in Thiruvananthapuram, but it is bright and sunny at the moment.
No rain clouds here. The ground here is traditionally a high-scoring. But India bowling coach Morne Morkel said that it might be a little difficult to bat on in the first 10 overs.
Morne Morkel described the conditions as good for batting but said the new-ball phase could be "a bit challenging", based on feedback from the batters. The most recent international match at the venue was a T20I between India and New Zealand in January, when India scored 271 and New Zealand replied with 225.
Greenfield International Stadium has hosted only two previous ODIs, so the sample size is small, but seamers have generally enjoyed bowling here. The venue has the third-best bowling average for seamers among Indian ODI grounds at 25.35. West Indies found the conditions difficult when they played here in 2018, being bowled out for 104 as Ravindra Jadeja took four wickets. There is minimal threat of rain forecast for Sunday.
But if you are someone fully devoted to cricket, do not worry, we have your back.
We are going to bring you the ball by ball updates from this match, inlcuding a lot of analysis and outside chatter.
Stay tuned as we build up for the toss, which takes place at 1:30 pm IST.
India are playing West Indies in their first ODI match in Thiruvananthapuram. I am Kingshuk Kusari and I welcome you to India Today's live coverage of the series.
This is a 3-match ODI series, which kicks off India's preparation for the ODI World Cup 2027, set to be held in South Africa.
Remember that the Indian cricket team is playing two separate tournaments right now - one this one, and another at the Asian Games.
The Asian Games team is under the coaching of VVS Laxman, while this one under the tutelage of Gautam Gambhir. If you want to follow our Asian Games coverage. You can click on the link.
Well, India's Abhay Singh is in the men's singles gold medal match against Malaysia's Ng Eain Yow, the defending champion.
Abhay will become the first Indian to win a singles gold medal if he downs Ng. And he will also seal a quota berth for the LA 2028 Olympics.
Follow live updates from Asian Games here.
The Asian Games may be keeping us busy, but if you're planning to follow the India vs West Indies ODI series, you don't have to worry about juggling multiple screens. We've got you covered with all the timely updates, scores, and key moments from the series.
Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli are back in action, with the 2027 ODI World Cup now just over a year away. India's three-match series against the West Indies comes at an important stage in their World Cup planning, with plenty still to figure out. Every ODI between now and next October will be an opportunity to test combinations, assess options and determine who fits where.
