T20I at Tarouba .. ..

 

One may call it ‘embarras de richesses’ – abundance that brings in confusion !! – now a days, we see so many players being rested, newer ones getting chances and sometimes older ones too getting recalled !!   decades ago, in that ODI in Auckland Feb 22 1976, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar debuted alongside Pochiah Krishnamurthy and Sudhakar Rao .. .. – just incidental that it was the only match for all the 3 of them !

It promises to be a carnage at Tarouba, DK hit couple of huge hits while Ashwin too hoisted one big !! – India is playing 3 spinners, yes, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravi Bishnoi.

Pic credit : @bcci twitter

San Fernando, is the most populous city and second most populous municipality in Trinidad and Tobago, after Chaguanas. Sando, as it is also known, occupies 19 km² and is located in the southwestern part of the island of Trinidad. It is bounded on two sides by the Guaracara River &  Oropouche River.  The motto of San Fernando is: "Sanitas Fortis" - In a Healthy Environment We Will Find Strength. San Fernando is called Trinidad and Tobago's "industrial capital" because of its proximity to the Pointe-à-Pierre oil refinery and many other petrochemical, LNG, iron and steel and aluminium smelters in places such as Point Lisas in Couva, Point Fortin, and La Brea.

 

Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated 130 kilometres (81 miles) south of Grenada and 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) off the coast of northeastern Venezuela. The island of Trinidad was inhabited for centuries by Indigenous peoples before becoming a colony in the Spanish Empire, following the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1498. Spanish governor José María Chacón surrendered the island to a British fleet under the command of Sir Ralph Abercromby in 1797.  Trinidad and Tobago obtained independence in 1962, becoming a republic in 1976.  Unlike most Caribbean nations and territories, which rely heavily on tourism, the economy is primarily industrial with an emphasis on petroleum and petrochemicals; much of the nation's wealth is derived from its large reserves of oil and natural gas.  

Today, India is playing the first of the 5 T20Is at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba.Alzarri Joseph, who picked up two wickets in each of the two games he played in the preceding ODI series, was handed his T20I debut. Shimron Hetmyer, who earned a call back ahead of this series, also came in, while Odean Smith, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder and Keemo Paul added all-round abilities in the middle. Akeal Hosein was the lone spinner in the West Indies XI.

India, on the other hand, has  three slow bowlers. Ravindra Jadeja, who was out of the ODIs due to a knee niggle, returned, with Ravi Bishnoi and R Ashwin - who last played a T20I in November 2021 - completing the tourists' spin trio. Rohit Sharma  is  back to lead, after being rested for the ODIs, while Shreyas Iyer got the nod ahead of allrounder Deepak Hooda and scored a duck. This is the  first international match at this stadium, which has hosted Caribbean Premier League games before. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy is a multi-purpose stadium in Tarouba, San Fernando, Trinidad and Tobago, that was completed and inaugurated in 2017. 

With regards – S. Sampathkumar
29^th July 2022.