Published: Oct 31, 2018, 08:09 PM (IST)
Edited: Oct 31, 2018, 08:08 PM (IST)
After crushing West India in the fourth ODI, India are favourites to win the fifth and final ODI to be played at Thiruvananthapuram.
West Indies, thoroughly beaten in the two-Test series, threatened to throw the predictions of utter domination by India in the ODI series.
They scored two 300-plus totals – one in defeat, the other resulting in a tie. Then they shocked India in Pune, giving their high-flying hosts a timely wake-up call
Virat Kohli’s men responded in kind. As Kohli was our early in Mumbai after hitting three consecutive centuries, Rohit Sharma and Ambati Rayudu stepped up.
The Indian bowlers then came to the party and Windies were blown away at the Brabourne Stadium. Order was restored as India took a 2-1 lead with a game remaining.
West Indies matched the might of Indian batsmen barring the fourth ODI. They are dealing with problems of their own – a misfiring top-order. Chandrapaul Hemraj is yet to fire and Kieran Powell has just one significant score at the top. Marlon Samuels, who boasts of a stellar record with the bat in India, has been a poor reflection of his old self. Clearly, Windies know where they have to improve.
India need to keep doing what they did in Mumbai and West Indies have to hope that others apart from Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer step up in the batting department if they want a share of the trophy.
West Indies visitors might drop Hemraj for Sunil Ambris to strengthen their top order
Disturbing the winning combination should be the last thing on Kohli’s mind They should stick with the same playing XI as in Mumbai.
India’s Probable XI: 1 Rohit Sharma, 2 Shikhar Dhawan, 3 Virat Kohli (capt.), 4 Ambati Rayudu, 5 Kedar Jadhav, 6 MS Dhoni (wk), 7 Ravindra Jadeja, 8 Bhuvneshwar Kumar, 9 Khaleel Ahmed, 10 Kuldeep Yadav, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
West Indies’ Probable XI: 1 Chandrapaul Hemraj/Sunil Ambris, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmeyer, 5 Marlon Samuels, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder (capt.), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Keemo Paul, 10 Fabien Allen 11 Kemar Roach
