By Kingshuk Kusari: India are set to play the series decider against West Indies at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy Stadium in Trinidad, on Tuesday, 1 August. It is fitting that West Indies will play the series decider in a stadium named after the captain under whose guidance they last won an ODI series against India, way back in 2006.
Windies, buoyed by their gritty display in the 2nd ODI series would hope to hit back once again at Trinidad on Tuesday. On paper, it is a no contest, if India play their full-strength team in Trinidad. In case Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli return to the line-up and play in their assigned positions, West Indies will run the risk of getting blown out.
However, Windies know their conditions better than the Indians, and if the visitors stay true to their experimental nature, things might get really interesting.
India captain Rohit Sharma had said during the first ODI match of the series that India will look to experiment, but results still remained their top priority.
Here’s a quick rewind of how things have gone through the series.
First ODI Recap
In the first ODI, held on 27 July, India dominated West Indies in all aspects of the game. The West Indies batting line-up crumbled under the pressure exerted by the Indian bowlers, particularly the spin duo of Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja, who shared seven wickets between them. The West Indies were bundled out for a meager 114 runs in just 23 overs.
India’s response was one of experimentation given the low total. The visitors dropped Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli down the order to allow the youngsters some game time. India suffered a mini collapse with its batters struggling in tricky conditions, but Rohit Sharma who came in at number 7 saw them to victory.
2nd ODI Recap
West Indies hit back in the second ODI, held once again in Barbados. The Shai Hope-led team put up a spirited performance, first bowling out India for 181 runs. The West Indies bowlers, particularly Motie and Shepherd, who picked up three wickets each, exploited the conditions effectively, causing two significant collapses in the Indian batting order.
The West Indies’ chase was not without its challenges. They slipped from a comfortable 53 without loss to 91 for 4. However, Hope, along with youngster Keacy Carty, steadied the innings with a 91-run partnership. Hope’s unbeaten 63 and Carty’s patient 48 not out ensured smooth sailing for the West Indies, who chased down the target with more than 13 overs to spare and five wickets in hand.
WI vs IND, 3rd ODI – Match Details
Venue: Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Trinidad
Timing: 7:00 PM IST
Broadcast and Streaming: DD Sports and Jio Cinema
Reason For Experiment
India head coach Rahul Dravid has been persistent about the need of looking at the big picture. Dravid has spoken clearly about giving second-choice players some game time before two big tournaments – Asia Cup and the World Cup.
In Dravid’s own words, playing Rohit and Virat would not have given India too many answers.
“This (series) was our last chance to try out some of our players. We’ve to try out other players and give some chances, so that in a worst-case scenario they have some game time behind them. It gives us some time to make decisions on players. We just felt that, in a series like this, with just two-three matches to go before the Asia Cup, playing with Virat and Rohit would not have given us too many answers,” India head coach Rahul Dravid had defended the experiments after the loss in 2nd ODI.
So, keeping that in mind, one can expect India to field a team similar to the 3rd ODI, this time preferably playing the batters in their registered positions – Suryakumar Yadav at 3, Samson at 4/5 and Axar Patel at 7.
The question perhaps one needs to ask is what are India looking for? Experiments, series in away from home or both.
West Indies vs India Probable XIs
West Indies
Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (c and wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
India
Shubman Gill, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (C), Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Shardul Thakur, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar
