Daijiworld Media Network

Mar 6: Hello and welcome to the India versus West Indies game at Perth. India play their fourth game and will be looking to keep their track record in this World Cup clean.

West Indies have won the toss and have opted to bat.

Holder: 'We just have to start well, this is a must win game for us. We will bat first. Looks to be a good wicket, we want to put runs on the board and defend it. We are just feeling comfortable putting runs on the board. One change, Roach in for Benn.'

Dhoni: 'We've kept it simple. The guys (bowlers) have understood the fact that they have to bowl in the right in the areas and not experiment too much. I am not too disappointed to lose the toss, the wicket won't change much, there was a bit of swing early on in our last match. It's a bit of an advantage that we know how the pitch behaves. Shami is fit, he comes back and so Bhuvi has to make space for him.'

Teams:

India (Playing XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Mohit Sharma

West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Marlon Samuels, Jonathan Carter, Denesh Ramdin(w), Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Jason Holder(c), Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach

Pitch Report: 'It's another warm day at WACA, Perth. It is the same pitch that was used for the Afghanistan-Australia game. It is a bit dry and hard. The ball will carry through. There will be bounce and pace. The more you pitch the ball up the more success you will get. If you bowl slower, the spinners will extract some turn. The wicket has something in it for everyone. The team winning the toss will bat first and look to put the runs on the board,' reckon Sourav Ganguly and Ian Bishop

Here is Ashwin talking about how the rule changes in ODI cricket have made bowlers like him 'feel very little'. 'I think it's huge in the sense if you get a couple of wickets up front, then the entire game turns on its head,' Ashwin said ahead of India's fourth group game against the West Indies at the WACA ground. 'As far as the spinner is concerned, when I come in, I've got that little bit more freedom. Having said that, I just made up my mind that I'm going to bowl this way the entire tournament. Come what may, I'll try to execute it, and that is one of the reasons that I've come out to express myself in any of these major tournaments. I like the big stage, and I like to assume I do it my own way.'

Darren Sammy said that his team needs to bring out their best game against India. 'It's another cricket match but India is playing well at the moment. You give each and every opponent the respect that they deserve. We have always had good matches against India and we have to bring out our 'A' game to beat India.'

On being asked about MS Dhoni, Holder said he has learnt a lot from the Indian skipper. 'I've picked up a lot from Dhoni. He's a good leader. He's a guy who is respected in the dressing room. Going about my career I tend to look at a few players and look at a few things people do, not particularly MS Dhoni, but successful players who have played cricket before. I just try to take bits and pieces from everybody and try to put it together into one.'

Some quotes from both camps before the game. First up is Jason Holder. 'I back my bowlers to execute their plans, putting them back and setting them on the back foot,' said Holder during the media briefing on the eve of the game. 'But they have a pretty good line-up and some good quality players. We've planned for them and we're just looking to execute our plans tomorrow.'

West Indies: West Indies may have been badly beaten by South Africa, but in all likelihood they will go in with the same side that lost to South Africa, meaning still no place for Kemar Roach.

Pre-match team news, India: Mohammed Shami who didn't play in the last game due to a minor knee issue is fit and bowled in the nets prior to the game. He may come in for Bhuvneshwar Kumar in the only likely change for this game.

It later turned out that Kohli had intended it for a different journalist. He then apologized through another journalist and the team management chose to play down the incident as a case of 'misunderstanding'.

Kohli's emotions had come to a boil at the scenic Murdoch University ground on Tuesday after the team's training session had ended. Before heading towards the nets, the Indian vice-captain confronted a journalist and went on an expletive-filled tirade in full public view.

The release also added: 'The BCCI has been in touch with the Indian team management on this issue, and has advised that this kind of incident should not be repeated.'

A bit of controversy and Virat Kohli never go out of place. The Indian vice-captain was reprimanded for losing his cool at a senior journalist just before India's game against the West Indies. His behaviour was reported both to the BCCI and the ICC. 'The player in question has been told to maintain the dignity of the Indian team at all times, and avoid any such behaviour in the future. The BCCI would like to request the concerned parties to move on, and focus on the Indian cricket team's campaign in the ongoing ICC CWC 2015,' stated the BCCI release.

West Indies were on a high coming into their clash against South Africa. They had beaten Pakistan soundly and were up for the clash against the Proteas. They started well with the ball too, keeping things tight till the 20th over. All that changed, once AB de Villiers came out to the middle. Runs flowed like a rampaging river from his bat as he broke one record after another. The white Kookaburra flew to all corners of the SCG as he made the fastest 150 in ODIs. South Africa made 408 and once Gayle was out cheaply, it was the margin of victory that everyone were guessing. West Indies were shot out for 151 giving South Africa a 257-run win. It was the joint highest victory margin in World Cups in terms of runs and severely dented West Indies' NRR.

Let's now have a look at how India and West Indies respectively performed in their last outing in this tournament. Starting with India. India simply blew the hapless UAE side, bowling them out for 102 in just 31.3 overs. The UAE batsmen had no clue against India's bowling and it was a stroll in the park for India's batsmen. Rohit Sharma helped himself to a fifty as he sought some form going into the business end of the tournament. That crushing win made it three wins in a row for India and kept their winning momentum going.

The relations between the boards might not be the greatest, but the players from both sides get along very well. Thanks largely in part to the T20 League. The likes of Gayle, Sammy, Russell and Holder in this current West Indian team are pals with a number of the Indian players. In fact Gayle and Kohli got along like a house on fire when they both played together for the Bangalore. So don't expect any tension or verbal jousts during the clash at the WACA on Friday.