The stage is set for the 'Universe Boss' - Christopher Henry Gayle to write his name into the records book on Sunday and the man who he is eclipsing is expected to be at the ground looking on.
When the West Indies battle India in the second match of the MyTeam11 ODI at the mecca of local cricket, Gayle, 39, will overtake Brian Lara as the most capped ODI player in the history of West Indies cricket.
It will be his 300th match for the men in maroon. When he strides to the crease to open the batting, he will need just nine runs to overtake Lara as the leading run-scorer in ODI cricket for the West Indies.
Lara, 50, who is expected to peer down from the Ken Gordon President Box scored 10, 405. Gayle had an opportunity to go past the mark in the opening match of the series but needing 13 runs, he scratched around for four off 31 balls before he was bowled by Kuldeep Yadav.
on Sunday, he will be hoping to do much better and to assist his team which has a dismal record at the Oval in recent years. The West Indies have had six ODI losses in last seven games at the Queen's Park Oval, four of which have come against India.
Before the washout, in Guyana, their last meeting would have been at the World Cup when India won by 126 runs at Manchester. It will be a tall order for the West Indies to stop the Indians at the Oval but they need to find a way to record a win, as the team winning Sunday's match will ensure that they don't lose the series, seeing that the contest is now effectively a two-match series.
West Indies skipper Jason Holder is looking forward: "Our openers needed to spend some time in the middle. Hopefully, the weather stays good and we get to play some cricket. But we need to stay consistent and if we can get that, it can bring in good habits for people. "
His opposite number the batting maestro Virat Kohli thinks adaptability is key for his players: "A few of the pitches in the Caribbean can test you. Some pitches might have good pace and bounce but some of them will be on the slower side and you need to be patient. The team that adapts well and plays a better percentage of cricket will benefit. Both teams will look to do that in the coming days."
All eyes will be focussed towards the heavens today because rain has affected the last four out of five ODI matches at this venue. Seeing that the first game was washed out, the fans will be anxious but weather forecasters here have advised that they keep their umbrellas home and leave their windows open, as there will be no rain about.
The pitch is expected to give early assistance to the seamers but all in all, given recent history it should be chockful of runs. Tickets for the match have been going slow, given the fact that only three stands will be in operation. A count yesterday afternoon revealed there was still about 20 per cent of the 5500 tickets available.
TEAMS
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Kemar Roach, Carlos Brathwaite, Jason Holder (c), Evin Lewis, Sheldon Cottrell, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Roston Chase, John Campbell, Keemo Paul, Oshane Thomas.
India: Rohit Sharma, Ravindra Jadeja, Virat Kohli (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kedar Jadhav, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), K Khaleel Ahmed, Manish Pandey, Yuzvendra Chahal, Lokesh Rahul, Navdeep Saini.