Windies v India 5th ODI: India Predicted XI

Team India was taken apart by the Windies in the fourth ODI. The hosts played with some energy and came out to bowl with intent. They batted miserably and so did India, however, it was their captain Jason Holder’s day. The tall fast bowler bagged a five-wicket haul and beat India in what was a do or die game for the hosts.

India, on the other hand, went down like ninepins. They were reduced to 47 for 3 in the 13th over and Dhoni tried to steady the ship but no one partnered him well. In spite of Ajinkya Rahane’s 60 and MS Dhoni’s 54, India lost the game by 11 runs while chasing a mere 190. They eventually fell short of deliveries get to the total as their innings concluded for just 178.

This was a major reality check for the Indian team as they could have sealed the series but now have to wait until the 5th ODI. There were a few absentees in the Indian team as Yuvraj Singh missed out due to a sore hamstring and Ravichandran Ashwin was left out. They will have to think about those changes as India will look after that middle order which collapsed brutally in the fourth ODI.

We have predicted the XI for the fifth and the final ODI against the West Indies. Let’s have a look.

Openers (Ajinkya Rahane and Shikhar Dhawan)

Ajinkya Rahane has been his own since the start of the series. He has played some beautiful knocks and has given India a good start in each of the game. He has already scored 297 runs in four games for India. Rahane will look to consolidate on his form further and claim a certain spot for himself in the ODI team.

Dhawan has been in phenomenal form. After a fantastic Champions Trophy, he started this series in Windies on a high as well. He managed to get two consecutive half-centuries but has failed in the last couple of games. He needs to get his act back together for the fifth ODI as a good start is something the Indian team always craves for.

Middle Order (Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni)

Virat Kohli played a fantastic inning in the second ODI to get India to a great total. He scored 87 but has been tamed down by the short ball in the last two ODIs. He needs to get back to his best and pick this team up. Virat was challenged with the short ball in the 4th and 5th ODI by his Windies counterpart and on both occasions, it was Jason Holder who had the last laugh.

Yuvraj Singh also has been struggling a bit in recent times. He missed the 4th ODI due to a sore hamstring and is expected to return to his place if fit. All Yuvraj needs to do is spend time in the middle and once he gets his eye in we all know the enormous potential he possesses. Yuvraj has quite a few 30s but needs to carry those forward and convert them into bigger knocks.

MS Dhoni plays when India needs him the most. He scored the slowest half-century in ODIs for India but the situation demanded him to stay. The man has the ability to take India home from any situation and that match was just a blip where he failed to do so. However, Dhoni would want to make up for it this time when he walks out to bat.

Lower Middle Order (Kedar Jadhav and Hardik Pandya)

Kedar Jadhav had little to do in the Champions Trophy and even in the first two ODIs of this series as he hardly got a chance to play. However, he showed his class in the third ODI when he scored 40 runs in just 26 deliveries. He partnered Dhoni well to take India to the 250-run mark. In the fourth ODI, he had a chance to shine but blew it as India went on to lose the game.

Hardik Pandya has done well with the ball in this series, given the pitches have offered bounce and he just loves to bowl his bouncers. But the allrounder to come true to that tag certainly needs to get his game up with the bat as well and provide the team some fireworks each time his duties are required.

Bowlers (Ravichandran Ashwin, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, and Umesh Yadav)

Ravi Ashwin was kept out of the fourth game and his absence was dearly missed by the team.He has bowled pretty well in the series thus far and his counterpart Ravindra Jadeja wasn’t really his best in the previous outing and played an irresponsible shot late in the match.

Kuldeep Yadav has been busy foxing the Windies batters. He has picked up 8 wickets in the tournament already and has been doing fantastically well for the team. The young chinaman is showing his class and is doing pretty well for himself. No batter has been able to pick him up yet and looks like the lad is here to stay.

Mohammed Shami ended up wicketless in the last game but bowled extremely well. To start the innings he bowled three back to back maidens and put the Windies batters under immense pressure. The team will want to back him and Shami will certainly come good irrespective of the offer from the wicket.

Umesh Yadav has been bowling with a lot of pace recently. He has been doing well up front always ensuring the team early breakthroughs. He has picked up 4 wickets so far and might end up having more in the final game. Umesh also relishes the opportunity to bowl with both the new as well as old ball.