India elect to field against West Indies

[Waqas 48]

JOHANNESBURG: India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni elected to field after winning the toss against the West Indies in the Champions Trophy here on Wednesday.

India, who have just one point from two games, suffered a major blow when ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar was ruled out due to a stomach infection.

They made two changes from the side that shared points with Australia in a rain-hit match at Centurion on Monday, bringing in Dinesh Karthik and Abhishek Nayar in place of Tendulkar and paceman Ishant Sharma.

Pakistan have already made it to the semi-finals after securing four points from two wins in the four-team Group A, while defending champions Australia are strongly placed to join them with three points from two games.

The West Indies are already out of the competition with no points after two matches. The top two sides advance to the semi-finals.

India''s slim hopes rest first on a Pakistan victory over formidable Australia in the ongoing day match at Centurion on Wednesday and then beating the West Indies in a day-night game here.

India: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Gautam Gambhir, Dinesh Karthik, Rahul Dravid, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Abhishek Nayar, Harbhajan Singh, Praveen Kumar, Ashish Nehra, Amit Mishra.

West Indies: Floyd Reifer (captain), Andre Fletcher, Kieran Powell, Devon Smith, Travis Dowlin, David Bernard, Darren Sammy, Royston Crandon, Nikita Miller, Kemar Roach, Gavin Tonge.