India vs West Indies 1st ODI Highlights: IND win by 3 runs to take 1-0 lead; Siraj defends 15 runs in last over

6.5: That's a freebie! Shepherd offers width and a player of Dhawan's calibre won't miss out on that! Four to the Indian captain. He hits the cover drive wide of extra-cover.

6.6: Same result! Consecutive fours for Dhawan, who is showing his versatility. He waited on it and hit it wide of mid-wicket… and India touch 50 in just seven overs!

India 50-0

Hooked away! Dhawan uses the pace to get it over the boundary fence. Second six of the innings and it's come off the Indian captain's willow. Six over fine leg and India openers continue to churn out boundaries.

India 38-0

Tidy from Jayden Seales. Shubman Gill jabs the last delivery to mid-on and both batters are quick to get a double. India already past 30 after first four overs.

India 32-0

2.5: First six of the innings! Short from Alzarri Joseph and Gill top-edges it over fine-leg fielder.

2.6: What an end to the over! A punch off backfoot and Gill gets an easy four in the point region. 15 runs off the third over. India are off to a flier.

India 29-0

Dhawan dabs it to mid-off for a quick single. Indian openers keeping the West Indies fielders on their toes. On the next ball, Gill guides it towards fine leg for a four. It has trickled down the leg side but umpire signals leg byes.

India 19-0

Gill defends the last ball and nudges it towards mid-on. Six runs off the second over and Dhawan-Gill pair is off to a great start.

India 14-0

Dhawan begins with consecutive boundaries -- one past cover-point and another one to the fine of third man. Eight of the first over and Gill begins with a four too! The youngster drills one through the covers against Jayden Seales.

India 14-0

Darren Ganga says there is a 30% chance of rain. The pitch looks even, flat, and hard. The wrist spinners may get exaggerated turn. There is some moisture which can help bowlers early.

The teams are out there for the national anthems! Expecting a cracker of a series opener at Queen's Park Oval. Dhawan set to open with Gill... stay tuned for live updates.

Shai Hope(w), Brandon King, Shamarh Brooks, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran(c), Rovman Powell, Akeal Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales

Shikhar Dhawan (c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer (vc), Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wk), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohd Siraj and Prasidh Krishna

Jadeja has been ruled out of the first two ODIs with knee injury.

"Team India all-rounder Mr. Ravindra Jadeja has sustained an injury to his right knee and has been ruled out of the first two ODIs against West Indies," tweeted BCCI.

"The BCCI Medical team is monitoring his progress and a decision on his participation in the third ODI will be taken accordingly."

"We wanted to bat second, wicket is sticky and rain is around but we are okay with this. I am a very cool captain, will hope to keep the energy up. Take good decisions and keep the process strong. The bench strength is complementary with the domestic and IPL cricket," says Dhawan.

"This is a great opportunity to showcase talent, show fight, and win the series. Surya, Shreyas, Samson are all good. Even myself (laughs). We get support here, from abroad and locals which is good."

"Just due to the weather and start time. We will look to use the conditions. Happy to win the toss, think the guys will be happy. Happy to be at my home ground. We spoke about batting through the innings, build partnerships. We will try our best to improve. Jason has Covid, Mayers is back from injury. Rest are the same from the Bangladesh series," says Pooran.

West Indies have won the toss and have opted to field

For West Indies, one encouraging news in the days since the end of the Bangladesh series is the return of all-rounder Jason Holder. The former captain will be looked to for inspiration with bat and ball... the flip of coin is just moments away!

While Hooda is expected to come to the fore, the likes of Suryakumar Yadav and Ishan Kishan look to churn out runs when the World T20 is just months away. The visiting side also has Shubman Gill in the wings.

Fresh from white-ball series success in England, the Indians have opted to rest regular captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya and Jasprit Bumrah.

Skipper Dhawan can open with Ishan Kishan or Ruturaj Gaikwad in Rohit's absence. Also, in-form Deepak Hooda can replace Kohli at the No. 3 batting spot. Toss coming up in few minutes… stay tuned for live updates!

Leading a side comprising many fringe players, Dhawan faced a question on his own form too. The seasoned batter said he isn't worried by the criticism about his runs or the stiff competition amid the Indian side.

“I don't feel odd, I have heard it for 10 years. People keep talking, I keep performing. If I listened to them, I wouldn't be here.”

"I have the experience, so I'm not too worried. As long as I self-analyse and improve, nothing else matters," Dhawan said on Thursday.

Prasidh Krishna and Yuzvendra Chahal are the leading wicket takers for India this year in ODIs, having taken 14 wickets in seven games. Prasidh has earned a lot of praise from former players for how he is shaping up and so this could very well be his year. 

Shubman Gill could be opening the innings with Shikhar Dhawan today. However, there have been a few calls for Ruturaj Gaikwad to play in that position. 

Gill has more experience than Gaikwad, with the latter having somewhat struggled to convert his IPL form to international cricket. But the Maharashtra batter is highly rated and has only played a handful of T20I matches. It will be interesting to see who walks out with the captain. 

It has been three years since this stadium hosted an international game and the last match, incidentally was also an ODI between India and the West Indies. India won that match by six wickets, with Virat Kohli scoring an unbeaten 114. It was his second consecutive century that series but, he hasn't score an ODI century since. 

Dhawan was first made captain of this second string Indian team in July last year, which was also the first time the Indian senior team split into two. While the Test team was in England getting ready for their Test series in the country, the ODI and T20I players played in Sri Lanka under Dhawan. 

This time, though, Dhawan will be captain for only three matches, after with Rohit Sharma and the rest of the top tier Indian players return for the five-match T20I series. 

The last time West Indies won a bilateral ODI series against India was in May 2006, with India having won 11 series since. In their recent matches, West Indies have hardly managed to bat the full 50 overs but the return of Jason Holder to the squad instills some much needed experience. 

Shikhar Dhawan leads a young Indian team once again, albeit not for an entire tour this time but just part of it. India's biggest stars will return for the subsequent five-match T20I series against the West Indies but for now, it is the young guns’ time to shine.