India continue their preparations for next year's 50-over World Cup with a three-game series against West Indies, which starts at Thiruvananthapuram on Sunday.
Off-the-field issues have once again reared their head for the Windies, but they did at least split a two-Test series with Pakistan recently.
India v West Indies First ODI Tips Summary
Best Bet - Virat Kohli over 41.5 performance points @ 5/6
Alternative Bet - Alzarri Joseph top West Indies bowler @ 3/1
Bet Builder - India to win, Virat Kohli top match batter & Mohammed Siraj to take two wickets @ 25/4
India v West Indies First ODI Prediction
Best Bet: Virat Kohli over 41.5 performance points @ 5/6
Virat Kohli will be the star turn in this first ODI between India and West Indies and he is fancied to return to form in style at a ground where he has had plenty of success before.
He made an unbeaten 166 in the last ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium in a dominant win for India over Sri Lanka back in 2023.
Kohli also has a very impressive five centuries against West Indies in one-day internationals, averaging 63.25 in 23 matches against the men from the Caribbean.
On what looks set to be a batter-friendly pitch, take Kohli to go over 41.5 performance points.
Alternative Bet: Alzarri Joseph top West Indies bowler @ 3/1
Much of West Indies' hopes in India rest on their impressive bowling attack, of which Alzarri Joseph is one of the standouts.
The 29-year-old comes into this series on the back of some eye-catching performances in the Caribbean Premier League in which he took a league-leading 16 wickets at an average of 17.87.
Joseph is fancied to star once again and can be the visitors' top bowler in this one.
India v West Indies First ODI Bet Builder Tip
India to win
Virat Kohli top match batter
Mohammed Siraj to take two wickets
Pays 25/4
India have dominated the recent head-to-heads between these two, winning nine of the last ten in this format, and should be too strong once more.
Kohli's impressive record both at this ground and against these opponents means that he is fancied to be the match's top batter.
Meanwhile, paceman Mohammed Siraj averaged 23.33 against the Windies in ODIs and is fancied for at least two wickets.
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Key Match Stats
West Indies have lost eight of their last ten ODIs
India have won four of their last six matches in this format
The visitors have not won an ODI series in 24 years in India
All five of the highest totals in meetings between these two in India have come from the hosts, including 418/5 in 2011
Virat Kohli averages 63.25 against West Indies in ODIs
Tactics, Form and Team News
Star veterans Kohli and Rohit Sharma return to the fold after a two-month absence following India's ODI series against England.
A number of their T20 stars will miss this ODI series, however, as the turnaround between their Asian Games clash against Japan and these games will be too tight. Sanju Samson, Shivam Dube, Washington Sundar and Arshdeep Singh are among them.
India expected XI: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill, 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 KL Rahul (WK), 6 Dhruv Jurel, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Nitish Kumar Reddy, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Mohammed Siraj, 11 Prasidh Krishna.
Shimron Hetmyer has been selected for the T20Is, but will miss out on this one-day international series, while Jason Holder has been rested.
John Campbell and Amir Jangoo are included in the ODI squad, but will skip the T20Is, with Campbell making his return from a hamstring injury.
Jewel Andrew will be making his first appearance for his nation since September 2025.
West Indies expected XI: 1 John Campbell, 2 Justin Greaves, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Amir Jangoo, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Jayden Seales, 11 Vitel Lawes.
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
