West Indies v India, 3rd ODI Preview: India looking to pile on the agony

The ODI series against India and West Indies was expected to be lopsided. The first game in Trinidad was washed out due to heavy rains but India ensured that they get 1-0 ahead in the series when they won the second game, which was reduced to 43-overs per side, by 105 runs on Sunday.

Team India followed a familiar theme of building their innings by some solid batting by the top order. Shikhar and Rahane added 114 for the first wicket, which was their 6th 50 plus stand in six consecutive innings together. Kohli carried the good work and injected momentum into the innings at the end. Leading up to the series, the form of Yuvraj and Dhoni was under scrutiny but the top order has again been sheltered by the top order. Yuvraj, though, has had two unsuccessful outings with the bat where he has scored just 18 runs in two innings. He will be looking to get a big score under his belt for he is under enormous pressure to keep his place in the side as the competition for the middle order is getting fierce.

The hosts would be looking to revive their chances in the series. West Indies have never won an ODI playing at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. They have included Sunil Ambris and Kyle Hope in the squad to bolster their batting which was not up to the mark in Trinidad. Their bowling wasn’t particularly bad in the first game but it oscillated to worse in the second one as they conceded a mammoth 311 in 43 overs. New ball bowlers – skipper Holder and Joseph – conceded almost 150 runs between themselves in 16.5 overs of bowling. Their death bowling was particularly poor, an area West Indies will be looking to work on in Antigua.

Toss: Windies won the toss and opted to field

Jason Holder: We are going to field first thanks to the overnight rain. It might have done some damage. We have got two debutants. Kyle Hope(debutant) comes in for Kieron Powell and Keserick Williams(debutant) comes in for Alzarri Joseph who has been rested. We have a balanced side. We just need to execute our plans. We have got an opportunity to make amends for what happened in the last game.

Virat Kohli: We definitely have played good cricket. Looks like a good surface. Last time as well we put some good runs on the board. The bowling unit really kept things tight in the last game. That is something that we worked on in the last game. Kuldeep was outstanding starting his career. I hope he continues to do well. It is up the responsibility of the players(on India being the side with most 300 plus totals). It is something that we believe as a team as well. The players are really determined to do something for the team. It is always about having belief in yourselves personally and then the performances follow.

Playing XI:

Windies: Evin Lewis, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope(w), Jason Mohammed, Roston Chase, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder(c), Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Kesrick Williams, Miguel Cummins

India: Ajinkya Rahane, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Yuvraj Singh, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Kedar Jadhav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav

Focus will be on:

Yuvraj Singh

The southpaw hasn’t fired at all in the first two games. Including the Champions Trophy final’s failure, Yuvraj has failed in three consecutive innings. At this stage of his career, a minor blip could cost him his place in the side. There are still three games left in the series where the 35-year old can help himself to runs without getting challenged much as the hosts bowling line up isn’t world class. The middle order batsman is one of the four Indians to score an ODI ton in the Caribbean alongside Dravid, Kohli and Rahane so he has happy memories of playing in the country. A free flowing batsman, Yuvraj is curbing his natural instinct of playing positively early in his innings which is bringing his downfall. The fear of failure shouldn’t trouble him at all as he enjoys the unconditional support of his skipper Virat Kohli. He must play his natural game which has brought him success in the past.

Jason Mohammad

The 30-year old Mohammad was dismissed without scoring in the second ODI. In a career spanning just 13 ODI games, the right-hander has shown a lot of promise. In a stern chase of 309 against Pakistan in April, Mohammad scripted a memorable win by blasting the Pakistan bowling attack on his way to an unbeaten 58-ball 91. The Trinidad & Tobacco cricketer needs to replicate that success in this series if they want to compete against a strong Indian side. He is an attacking player and must not bat as high as No. 3, which he did in the previous game. No. 5 fits his game perfectly as he can take the innings towards a grand finish. His off-spin bowling can also be utilised against the likes of Yuvraj and Dhawan.

Team Combinations

India

Team India will be tempted to include Rishabh Pant in the XI for this game. They can rest Dhawan, who has been playing non-stop cricket for three months and get the explosive batsman to open the innings. Rahane will open again in this game with Kohli batting at 3. Kedar Jadhav can be given a chance to bat at No. 4 given that he hasn’t got much of a hit in the middle in the recent past. Dhoni and Yuvraj will occupy the other batting slots. Pandya will be the sole all-rounder in the line-up and Ashwin might retain his place in the XI after a decent return of 1/47 in the last game. After an impressive show in the second game, Kuldeep will pile his trade against the lowly hosts. Bhuvneshwar and Umesh will be the new ball bowlers.

West Indies

The hosts are not expected to make wholesale changes for this game. Evin Lewis might be back at the top of the order opening the innings alongside Shai Hope, who made an eye-catching 81 in the last game. Roston Chase should be given a chance to bat higher up the order, maybe at No. 3. Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris can be given a debut and made to bat in the middle order alongside Jason Mohammad. Holder and Nurse are two players who can play the all-rounder’s role to give balance to the side. Miguel Cummins and Rovman Powell might be the other seam bowlers alongside Holder. Though Bishoo was expensive, he is likely to retain his place in the XI.

Stat Attack

3 – Wickets required by Ashwin to become the 13th player from India to record 150 ODI wickets.

0 – West Indies haven’t won a single game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in 11 games.
3 – Number of times a 300 plus score is recorded on this ground in 15 games.