It is a little surprising that these two sides, hugely popular among the expatriate population in England, haven't faced each other in an ODI in England in the last 30 years. When India last played West Indies in an ODI in England, ODI cricket and West Indies were the kings. India upset West Indies that afternoon, became the new kings of ODI cricket, and paved the way for a whole new commercial explosion in the format. Thirty years later, as they face off in England again, India are the world champions and the No. 1 ODI side, but the format itself is fighting for relevance, at least in popular discourse.
West Indies, knocked off their proud perch long ago, will like to believe they have begun the resurgence through Twenty20, the format that is supposed to be the premier limited-overs format. This Champions Trophy provides them a big opportunity to carry that resurgence into the ODIs. And if they can beat India, the only way to keep West Indies out of the semi-finals will be net run rate. If India win, they are through to the semi-finals as only one out of West Indies and South Africa would then be able to secure two wins*.
These are teams built around batting might. The new regulations might have made India sacrifice one of the seven batsmen they loved to play, but they still rely on their batsmen, who racked up 331 against South Africa. West Indies' win might have come in a low-scoring game, but they played with just three specialist bowlers, with captain Dwayne Bravo, Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle left to share 20 overs between them. West Indies might add one bowler to the line-up, but it still remains a contest between the mighty batting units.
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