After a one hour delay due to a wet outfield, India put the West Indies in to bat and reduced them to 27 for one with Chris Gayle departing for a second-ball duck but that was as far as the match advanced, a torrential downpour sweeping across the ground.

Despite the rain clearing relatively quickly, the outfield was too sodden for play to resume and the umpires had little choice but to call the match off.

The two sides shared a win apiece in Jamaica before India won a rain-affected match at the same venue by six wickets on Friday.

Yuvraj, who struggled to find any form in the recent ICC World Twenty20 in England, was back to his best in Jamaica, putting on a stand worth 135 with Dinesh Karthik for the third wicket to put India in command after two early wickets had undermined their decision to bat first. Gautam Gambhir (13) and Rohit Sharma (4) both fell to miscued pulls, Dwayne Bravo the fielder on both occasions as Jerome Taylor and Lionel Baker struck. Karthik marked his return to the side with a fluent 67 with six fours and a six before he scooped David Bernard in the air for a simple catch to Denesh Ramdin.

Yuvraj and Mahendra Singh Dhoni then took the batting Power Play and carted the West Indians for 62 spectacular runs but the home side hit back when Bravo, playing alongside younger brother Darren who is making his debut, had both Yuvraj and Ravi Jadeja (0) caught by Ramdin in two balls. Dhoni hit one big six off of Taylor before he was run out by an alert Ramdin but a final flourish from Yusuf Pathan (40 not out) and Harbhajan Singh (21 not out), who hit the last ball of the innings for a maximum, enabled India to get well past 300.

The home side got off to a good start, with the top four batsman all making good contributions at good pace before India got themselves back into the game. Chris Gayle (37) was his usual belligerent self, Runako Morton (42) overcame a slow start while Ramnaresh Sarwan (45) and Shivnarine Chanderpaul (63) batted superbly. Gayle was undone when he miscued a pull, Morton gloved down the leg side, Sarwan was run out attempting a second run to RP Singh while Chanderpaul chipped a catch into the midwicket region during the batting Power Play, during which the West Indies lost two other wickets as they began to lose their way.

Taylor was sent up the order to do some damage, responding with 21 in 15 deliveries and even Bernard chipped in with 19 and despite a couple of timely boundaries from Ramdin, the West Indies had been left with too much to do, the match ending when Ramdin chipped Nehra to Harbhajan at mid off. Left-arm quick Nehra, back in the side after four years out, also removed Gayle and Bernard while Pathan dismissed Morton, Chanderpaul, and Taylor.

The second match takes place at the same venue on Sunday (26th June).

For West Indies, it was a tournament to remember as they reached the semi finals of a major tournament which bodes well for cricket in their region. But what is worrying is that their team is dependent too much on captain Chris Gayle and they would want to change that aspect especially since this is longer than 20 overs. The 50 overs game will bring Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnaraine Chanderpaul into the picture a bit more and these two will be names to watch out for.

India didn’t do too well as per expectations in the T20 World Cup and will be looking to bounce back and end their season on a high. After this there is a two months break before the next assignment and therefore they will be looking to get a good result before returning home. Ashish Nehra and four other players have joined the team so this should lift their spirits as well. But big names Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan will be missing so that means India will be short on experience.

The match starts at 8 pm IST.

India currently sits with Australia on 122 ratings points but behind Ricky Ponting’s men in third place by a fraction of a point. However, if India sweeps the series, it will gain one rating point which will allow it to claim second place in the championship for the first time since the rankings were introduced in October 2002.

India is 32 ratings points ahead of eighth-placed the West Indies and that gap means it is expected to win the series comfortably. If it fails to do so then its rating will suffer and it will lose one point to drop behind Australia even if it secures a 3-1 success, a release said here on Thursday. A 2-2 draw series will put India on 119 ratings points and a 4-0 defeat will drop it to 116 ratings points, just four points ahead of fourth-placed New Zealand.

In contrast, the West Indies, which will start the series on 90 ratings points, will gain nine ratings points in case of a 4-0 series win to narrow the gap with seventh-placed Sri Lanka by six points. A 3-1 series win will lift it to 96 ratings points, a 2-2 draw series will take it to 93 ratings points and a 3-1 loss will leave it on 91 ratings points. The West Indies will concede two ratings points if India wins all the matches of the series, the release added.

West Indies not only beat India in the Super Eight stage of the Twenty20 World Cup but also laid bare their frailty against rising deliveries which was exploited well by England. Gayle believes the side under Mahendra Singh Dhoni, however depleted, would seek to settle score in the four-match ODI series starting here on Friday.

“We have a big game on Friday against India. We’re all looking forward to it,” Gayle said. “India is always a good One Day team and they will be looking to beat us based on their Twenty20 disappointment,” he added.

Gayle said even though India would be without star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the bunch is still good enough to make life miserable for the hosts. “Sehwag and Tendulkar are two world class players but they still have quality players to step up and they have a lot of experience in one day cricket. They still have quality players in Yuvraj (Singh), Harbhajan Singh, (Mahendra Singh) Dhoni, (Ishant) Sharma and a lot of guys to give us a lot of trouble,” Gayle said.

“So it’s not a situation where we will say it’s a walkover. It’s never a walkover against India,” he added. Having led the side to the semifinals of the Twenty20 World Cup, Gayle said he was happy with the support from all quarters. “The support has been brilliant. The guys gave me their full support and I gave them the same sort of support and respect which they deserve. It’s been enjoyable. Captaining the West Indies has done a lot for me individually and I’m really happy and grateful to be captaining West Indies and the entire region,” Gayle said.

The holders crashed out in the Super Eight stage amid rumours of player rifts, with captain MS Dhoni’s leadership under fire. The team has an immediate chance to get things back on track in the Caribbean and prove that recent events have been a blip and not the start of a decline.

The squad charged with the task of this mini rebuilding job is a new-look one. Four first choice ODI players – Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina – are missing through injury, whilst Munaf Patel and Irfan Pathan have been dropped.

Their replacements are familiar faces, the selectors deciding to give second chances rather than fresh ones – the only prospective international debutant is Abhishek Nayer, who is nearly 26 and far from an adventurous pick.

Ravindra Jadeja made an excellent impression in his only previous ODI appearance, hitting an unbeaten 60 against Sri Lanka in February and was always likely to return at some point. Similarly, RP Singh’s spell on the sidelines never looked like bringing an end to his international career.

Batsmen Subramaniam Badrinath and Murali Vijay appeared further away from recalls and it is surprising that their latest chances have come in coloured clothing. Both seem better suited to Test cricket, the arena in which Vijay has previously experienced international action.

However, the player whose recall has raised most eyebrows is Ashish Nehra. With Zaheer Khan, RP Singh and Irfan Pathan ahead of the 30-year old in the left arm pacemen pecking order, the prospects of a recall looked slim.

The selectors are clearly happy to consult Indian Premier League form – Lakshmi Balaji is another injury prone bowler who was reselected after a long spell in the wilderness thanks to his IPL showings – but many Indian fans will want the selectors to look forward.

The new, old faces will need to take their opportunity, as there is plenty of experience ready to step back in. There is also youth, in the form of Manish Pandey and co., pressing for a chance.

At the moment though, it’s that time of year again when attention turns to 2009 ashes betting and keeping up to date with movements in the Ashes odds. If you need to get in the betting mood, check out Betfair’s great fanvfan site.

India have been in great form in one-dayers over the past ten months, losing only three dead matches from 18 games. West Indies performed strongly in the World Twenty20 after a forgettable show against England in the Tests and one-dayers.

“I think it’s going to be a competitive cricket (series) and we are looking forward to it,” MS Dhoni said. ” West Indies is playing good cricket at the moment. They are having a very good World Twenty20 tournament, but in the 50 overs, you have time to settle down.”

India are missing four first-team players on the tour – Sachin Tendulkar, Zaheer Khan, Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina – but coach Gary Kirsten said this was a chance for the youngsters to shine. “You’re always going to miss them because they are great players, but it’s a great opportunity for a tour of this nature for young players to show what they’re made of.”

The first of four one-dayers is on June 26 in Kingston.

Batsman Sachin Tendulkar and fast bowler Zaheer Khan have been rested, Suresh Raina has been ruled out with a thumb injury while there are call-ups for all-rounder Abhishek Nayar and Ashish Nehra.

Nehra impressed during the Indian Premier League, when he took 19 wickets for the Delhi Daredevils and the call-up for Nayar is his first. He has also pushed himself into contention with strong Indian Premier League performances for the Mumbai Indians. Nehra last played an ODI for India in September 2005 before a string of injuries ruled him out of contention.

Batsman Murali Vijay is the other uncapped playere in the squad and with no Tendulkar or Virender Sehwag in the party, he could join Gautam Gambhir at the top of the order unless Rohit Sharma continues in that role.

Established pace bowlers Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar are joined by RP Singh while a number of spin options will be available to captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, with Pragyan Ojha, Harbhajan Singh and Ravi Jadeja all selected.

The first ODI is on 26th June in Jamaica.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain, wicket-keeper), Yuvraj Singh, Gautam Gambhir, Rohit Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Pragyan Ojha, Yusuf Pathan, Murali Vijay, Subramaniam Badrinath, RP Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ishant Sharma, Abhishek Nayar, Ashish Nehra, Ravindra Jadeja, Dinesh Karthik