India vs Windies: 4th ODI, Preview: Proud home record at stake for the Men in Blue in Mumbai

India have to come up with the answers after a loss in Pune.

Published - 28 Oct 2018, 18:13 IST | Updated - 28 Oct 2018, 18:13 IST

View : 5.1K

3 Min Read

Windies have stunned everyone with their impressive show in the ongoing ODI series. They backed up a superb performance in Vizag with a brilliant one in Pune and now find themselves in a position to take an unassailable lead in the five-match contest. Literally, nobody would’ve given them a chance against India to win and that too in their own den. But they’ve managed to defy all the odds and will look to keep improving ahead of the World Cup.

Shai Hope has been the shining light for them along with a few valuable contributions from the lower-order with the bat. The bowling has done decently exploiting the conditions much better the home side and they will have the responsibility to continue a good job in order to win the series. It will be interesting to see how they perform now that they are expected to do well in the remaining two games.

Virat Kohli shrugged off the loss in Pune as a one-off performance. But even he knows that Team India is facing a lot of questions with only 15 matches to go before the World Cup. The middle-order is unsettled forever now and the bowlers failing to clean up the tail has been a concern since England tour. Kohli needs some support with the bat else his centuries will continue to go in vain in the near future.

Team Combinations

India

Definitely, the Men in Blue will make changes to their line-up with the skipper confirming Kedar Jadhav’s return to the side during the post-match presentation. However, the big question will be, Who will sit out? Will Kohli take the risk of leaving out the under-performing MS Dhoni?

As of now, it seems that Rishabh Pant will make way for Kedar and after what transpired in Pune, Ravindra Jadeja should come in for one of the spinners or pacers. Yuzvendra Chahal might have to sit out after conceding runs at a higher rate consistently.

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli (c), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Khaleel Ahmed, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah.

Windies

Things are finally clicking for Jason Holder and his troops. Expect no changes for the visitors in this game which is rarity while playing in India for the touring teams. While the batting is yet to click at full tilt for them, if a senior player like Marlon Samuels joins Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, they can give a good run to the full strength Indian bowling attack. The bowling line-up looks settled though they would love to see Kohli’s back early in Mumbai.

Probable XI: Kieran Powell, Chanderpaul Hemraj, Shai Hope (wk), Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (c), Ashley Nurse, Kemar Roach, Fabien Allen, Obed McCoy.

Focus will be on

Shikhar Dhawan (India)

Shikhar Dhawan is the only batsman in the top four to have scored a half-century for India in this series. He has looked menacing though in the last two outings and a big knock might just be around the corner for the Delhi cricketer. This match is a perfect time for the southpaw to notch up a three-figure score which will eventually help India to take an unassailable lead in the series.

Marlon Samuels (Windies)

Samuels picked three wickets with the ball in the Pune ODI but the tourists need him to fire with the bat. His bowling heroics might’ve given him the much-needed confidence and one can never rule him out. The two time World T20 champion, Samuels, has proved it before and will be keen to make a statement in this series. What better than making his experience count in the most important game of the series!