Big picture – West Indies need wickets, desperately
When 400 was chased down for the first time, more than 20 years ago, observers wondered in the warm afterglow if it was the greatest ODI ever played. The second time around – in the
33rd time of asking – the winning team’s coach, no less, wondered if it was even cricket,
or just batting.
While it might be true that it takes help from conditions to gun down 406 in 43.3 overs, don’t take away from the skill, the ambition, the intent, the discipline, the fitness, and insatiable appetite of the modern batter.
West Indies will be up against the best of it for a third time after having taken just four wickets – as many as the centuries they have conceded – for 706 runs across the first two ODIs. If they are to prevent a whitewash, their bowling will have to find some teeth and not lose discipline in the process of striving for it.
India themselves have not been flash with the ball, but they are also without Jasprit Bumrah
and now Prasidh Krishna, who walked off with a hamstring injury five overs into his work in the second ODI. Kuldeep Yadav has provided them six old-ball wickets, which have played a part in restricting West Indies to less than what they looked set for in both ODIs.
The task for Kuldeep and Co. could be stiffer anyway, given that they are likely to be defending a total: if West Indies win the toss, they may want to bat first again; if India have the choice, they will likely want to challenge themselves and defend a total.
India WWLLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
West Indies LLWLL
In the spotlight – Jayden Seales and Shubman Gill
Jayden Seales seemingly has all the attributes of a threatening fast bowler. His Test average of under 26 and a strike rate of 46 is a testament to that. He has tested the India batters the most in this series, which is not quite reflected in an average of 110 and economy rate of 7.33. What he needs from himself is perhaps a stronger commitment to lengths and from his team-mates to make sure the pressure is not released at the other end.
It was assumed that the reduced frequency of ODI cricket will save all its batting records from
Shubman Gill, but looking at the efficiency and volume of his run-getting, are they really safe? He already has 11 hundreds in 69 matches, two of them doubles, and has scored
894 runs in 10 innings this year already. He has the small matter of nine more ODIs left this year. His own tally of 1584 in 2023 seems under threat, but more importantly Sachin Tendulkar’s world record of 1894 in a single year might even get a fair shake if Gill continues in the same vein and if the pitches continue to be conducive to high scores.
Team news: Will Siraj get a game?
Pundits have been asking why
Mohammed Siraj has not been getting a game. While it is apparent that India prefer batting depth, which is why Kuldeep Yadav was benched in England, it is a little surprising that they have preferred two similar bowlers, Prasidh and Gurnoor Brar, to Siraj here. Now that Prasidh is out with injury, Siraj should get a game even though Anshul Kamboj has been flown in as replacement. Naman Dhir also went off without finishing his seventh over in the second ODI, but he is fine and should stay in the side.
It will be unlike India to discard Auqib Nabi after just one match in which everyone travelled. He also did make a decent comeback at the death, playing a role in “restricting” West Indies to 405. There might be temptation to give Yashasvi Jaiswal a game, but it will be quite an unpopular move to rest Rohit Sharma, who now plays only ODIs and doesn’t get too many games anyway.
India (probable): 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shubman Gill (capt), 3 Virat Kohli, 4 Ruturaj Gaikwad, 5 KL Rahul (wk), 6 Naman Dhir, 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Auqib Nabi, 9 Kuldeep Yadav, 10 Gurnoor Brar, 11 Mohammed Siraj.
The result might have been similar but West Indies played a much more enterprising XI in the second game. At least on paper, they strengthened their bowling, and they should ideally retain that XI.
West Indies (probable): 1 John Campbell, 2 Keacy Carty, 3 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 4 Amir Jangoo, 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Roston Chase, 7 Keemo Paul, 8 Shamar Joseph, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Jayden Seales, 11 Vitel Lawes.
This will be New Chandigarh’s ODI debut, but from what we have seen in the IPL the pitch has good pace and bounce. Any assistance for bowlers can be added or removed by design, but the idea for ODIs in general is to make good batting pitches without going to the extreme that Guwahati did. The players will welcome the milder temperatures and drop in humidity just below the foothills of the Himalayas.
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