Jason Holder's men drew a five-match ODI series against top-ranked England 2-2 at home recently, in a timely boost before the May 30-July 14 showpiece event.
Even though West Indies stars such as Chris Gayle and Andre Russell were not part of that series, Jason Holder's team still must be smarting from those three consecutive losses last month.
West Indies ODI captain Jason Holder feels that his stint at Chennai Super Kings was a well spent one as he learnt about the nuances of captaincy from none other than India's limited overs skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
But the hosts lost Kieran Powell and Nkrumah Bonner to successive balls from Mohammad Abbas in only the third over of their reply and were 2-2 when bad light brought play to a premature close.
The Virat Kohli-led Indian side will look to clinch five-match ODI series against West Indies when they play the must-win fifth and the final match at the Sabina Park here on Thursday.
The sub-narratives in the main story will be equally intriguing in the next 13 days.
Virat Kohli and Mayank Agarwal hit half-centuries to help India post 264 for five, on Day 1 of the second Test against West Indies.
Rashid finished with final figures of 4-24 against Lucknow after what he would later attribute to 'experimenting with a different length' in this particular match.
Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane hit unbeaten half-centuries to put India in firm control, on Day 3 of the first Test against West Indies in Antigua, on Saturday.
Punjab Kings would be keen to put brakes on Lucknow Super Giants skipper KL Rahul's rollicking batting form during their IPL 2022 match on Friday.
Kohli wasn't happy about his dismissal and he hit the boundary cushion as well as a chair on his way back to the pavilion.
The famous win on Sunday was West Indies' first in the opening Test of an away series in almost 13 years. Jason Holder led from the front, taking a career-best six wicket-haul in the first innings.
The legendary Sachin Tendulkar has inspired all. The iconic batsman's legacy should be carried forward by someone from the Caribbean nation, feels West Indies fast bowler Jason Holder.
West Indies have lost their last four Tests, two to Australia and two to Sri Lanka, and have not enjoyed a single win in Australia since the 1996-97 tour.
IMAGES from the Indian Premier League match played between Rajasthan Royals and Punjab Kings in Guwahati on Wednesday.
Former West Indies fast bowler Joel Garner said the current side stand a decent chance of winning the Cricket World Cup - 40 years since he helped them last lift the trophy with a record five-wicket haul in the final.
Mumbai Indians will be looking for an ideal playing eleven to end their five-match losing streak when they take on Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL match in Mumbai on Saturday.
Jason Holder is hoping to lead a very different West Indies side into Friday's World Cup clash against South Africa to that which was crushed 4-1 in a One-Day International series last month.
Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine failed to make the cut as West Indies announced their 15-man squad
One can't but sense impending deja vu seeing this picture of Virat Kohli signing an autograph for Sunrisers Hyderabad fast bowler Umran Malik at the end of Wednesday's game at the Sheikh Zayed stadium in Abu Dhabi.
KL Rahul, Virat Kohli's collaborator in a century stand, made 62 but the India captain completed a clinical chase,
India captain Virat Kohli retained his fifth spot, while teammates Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant were joint sixth in the latest ICC Test rankings for batsmen.
After winning just one game in IPL 2021 before Monday's match against the Rajasthan Royals in Dubai, Sunrisers Hyderabad had a lot to cheer when they ended their losing streak with an emphatic victory.
A ruthless Indian team is unlikely to take its foot off the pedal as it aims to top up a world-record winning feat with another clean sweep against the West Indies in Port of Spain, Trinidad, on Wednesday.
Images from Day 3 of the third and final Test between England and West Indies at Old Trafford in Manchester on Sunday.
The hosts then raced to 199-6 in 31 overs, effectively batting West Indies out of the contest, before declaring their second innings.
Stand-in skipper Moeen Ali smashed a blistering half-century and picked up two key wickets in the West Indies chase as England squared the five-match Twenty20 series at 2-2 with a 34-run victory in the fourth game in Bridgetown on Saturday.
Roston Chase closed in on his fourth test hundred as he forged a century partnership with skipper Jason Holder to help West Indies to 295 for seven on the opening day of the second and final test against India on Friday.
A victory for West Indies against New Zealand in their cricket World Cup quarter-final on Saturday would be "huge" for fans back in the Caribbean eager to put months of controversy behind them, according to captain Jason Holder.
Rohit has 807 rating points as against 828 of Kohli.
Images from the Indian Premier League match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Kolkata Knight Riders, in Dubai, on Sunday.
The Premier League's bottom two clubs met at Goodison Park and there was more woe for Everton as they bowed out on penalties to Southampton after a 1-1 draw.
'Credit must go to all the bowlers. I thought the fielding was very supportive. We knew we could beat India. Just needed some application'
Reckon Captain Kane can call on Murali, Lara and Steyn to shore up his resources on the field of play?
Zimbabwe captain Sean Williams bludgeoned 174 to set up a 304-run victory for his side in their ODI World Cup Qualifier against the United States.
Man-of-the-match for his all-round show, Rolston Chase has said it felt nice to contribute in a good result.
David relied on his experience and formed an unbeaten match-winning partnership of 62 runs with Tilak Varma.
West Indies have replaced wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin with Shane Dowrich for the four-Test series at home to India.
They are languishing at the bottom and placed eighth in the points table after the first half of IPL 2023.
