West Indies VS India, 3rd ODI

 

West Indies will hope for more contributions from their top order batsmen. © AFP 

The Picture

Nothing much had changed in the second ODI, with the West Indian lower order salvaging the team yet again. Their top order batsmen have been in terrible form for some time now and that continued in the last game as well. Their bowlers were good having restricted the hosts to 237. The hosts got there courtesy a half century by Suryakumar Yadav and an eventful 49 by KL Rahul who was unlucky to miss his half century due to a run out. The Windies batsmen though were something different altogether. Even after getting to a decent start at 32-0, fell prey to some hostile and quality bowling from Prasidh Krishna whose short stuff was too hot for them to handle. Their top order for the nth time collapsed again and it was up to Akeal Hosein, Fabian Allen and Odean Smith to do the heavy lifting yet again and it was too much for them too in the end as the Windies fell short by 44 runs. 

Albeit they lost and the margin in the end was big, there were times when the Indians were biting their fingernails as the lower order power hitters were taking the game deep and striking boundaries at will. West Indies have good batsmen and a long batting line up as well with Odean Smith coming in at 9, but in games they don't bat deep enough to let their powerful lower order go berserk from the get go. They will need a better performance from their top order and one of them will have to bat deep if the Windies will have to avoid a whitewash and pocket 10 super league points in the process, with their number 8 position on the league table not looking pretty. The Indians would be happy that almost every member played a role in the last win and will hope the same continues come match day. They will also look to experiment with their team combinations, but make no mistake, they will be looking to notch up yet another win.

When:  11 February 2022, Friday

Time:   1:30 P.M (IST)

Where: Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad

Team News

West Indies

After the pyrotechnics of Odean Smith with the bat and his hustle with the ball, the visitors might look to rest their regular skipper for another game and give the Jamaican another chance to impress. Otherwise they might need to take a call on Darren Bravo who has had a lacklustre tour so far.

Probable XI: Brandon King, Shai Hope, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Fabien Allen, Keiron Pollard/ Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Kemar Roach

India

Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer have recovered from their bouts of Covid 19 with the former making a return at the top of the order most likely in place of Deepak Hooda or Suryakumar Yadav. They might also look to experiment with some others in their side and may look to give Kuldeep a go as well. 

Probable XI: Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, KL Rahul, Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur/ Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal/ Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna

Pitch and Playing Conditions

Two games and two completely different pitches, with the first game being slow while the second one having some steep bounce. The pitch for the third game will again boil down on the surface chosen with respect to the soil and the grass cover or the lack thereof. Dew was non existent in the last game, with the first one having plenty of it will keep both teams and their captains guessing.

Interesting Facts

• Darren Bravo has averaged 20.86 while striking at 70 in his last 20 ODI's since 2019.

• In 27 matches since 2018, the pacers have dominated the spinners in India. The seamers have picked 205 wickets at an average of 37 with a strike rate of 38.1 while the tweakers have picked 151 wickets at an average of 41.3 with a strike rate of 46.7.