WI vs IND: 3rd ODI Preview – Series victory in sight for Team India

The stakes will be high and the series will be on the line as India face off against West Indies in the third ODI of the series. The Indian cricket team are already in a position of command, having taken a 1-0 lead. Skipper Kohli’s century meant that India cannot now lose the series. But the focus now will be firmly on clinching another bilateral contest. West Indies, on the other hand, have a lot of areas to work on. Their lack of temperament and failure to adapt to tough situations has again reared its ugly head. But with the individual quality in their ranks, India simply cannot afford to take them lightly.

Match Info

West Indies vs India, 3rd ODI

Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (7:00 pm IST)

Head-To-Head

Played – 129

West Indies wins – 62

India wins – 61

Tied – 2

No result – 4

Team News

West Indies

Skipper Jason Holder has been at a loss for words for the lack of consistency shown by his batsmen. While the bowlers have done reasonably well, the batters have let their guard down. This comes as a surprise to many considering the number of big names in the batting department. The unit will have to collectively pull its socks up in order to give a highly professional Indian team a run for their money.

India

The Indian cricket team have gotten over well from the disappointment of the World Cup. Kohli has found form again and youngsters like Shreyas Iyer and Khaleel Ahmed have been given a decent chance to cement their places. The Indian team will now hope for more of a contribution from their openers, who have failed to fire so far. With the quality which the Indian unit has though, they will firmly start as the favourites heading into the contest. With a series to win, there aren’t likely to be any changes in the set-up.

Key Players

Nicholas Pooran (West Indies): Pooran hasn’t so far lit the series on fire as many expected him to. Coming off the back of a brilliant World Cup, the young batter has been touted as the future of Windies cricket. Showing glimpses of his talent in the second ODI scoring 42 runs, Pooran will be hoping for a much bigger contribution this time around.

Virat Kohli (India): The Indian captain showed all his class in the second ODI. His knock of 120 was eventually the difference between the two sides. Stitching together the middle-order brilliantly, Kohli’s ton ensured that India put up a competitive score on the board. With his never-ending hunger for runs, Kohli will be aiming for another big knock to seal the series for the visitors.

Probable XI

West Indies: C Gayle, E Lewis, S Hope (wk), N Pooran, S Hetmyer, R Chase, J Holder (c), C Brathwaite, K Roach, S Cottrell, O Thomas

India: S Dhawan, R Sharma, V Kohli (c), S Iyer, R Pant (wk), K Jadhav, R Jadeja, B Kumar, K Yadav, M Shami, K Ahmed