BRIDGETOWN, Barbados (AFP)— Indian captain Rohit Sharma won the toss and put West Indies in to bat in the first One-Day International of a three-match series at Kensington Oval in Barbados on Thursday.

Fresh from a 1-0 Test series triumph, the visitors are shifting gears to prepare for the hosting of the Cricket World Cup in just over two months’ time.

In contrast, the hosts are licking deep self-inflicted wounds as the two-time World Cup winners have failed, for the first time, to qualify for the showpiece event.

Both sides have hedged their bets on the playing conditions with two specialist spinners in each 11 to support the seamers.

India have won the last eight ODI’s against the West Indies, although they were pushed hard by the Caribbean side at the start of the corresponding series a year ago.

Teams: West Indies – Shai Hope (captain/wicketkeeper), Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Dominic Drakes, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales.

India – Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Ishan Kishan (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Kuldeep Yadav, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.

Umpires: Nigel Duguid (GUY), Michael Gough (ENG)

TV Umpire: Marais Erasmus (RSA)

Match Referee: Richie Richardson (ANT)