In an era where 300s are strolled past in comfort, West Indies defended 189 against India at North Sound, Antigua. A West Indies side sans the Gayles, Pollards, Russells, Bravos and Narines, a West Indies side that failed to cling onto a Champions Trophy spot, punctured the Indian egos on Sunday. Celebrated finisher MS Dhoni scored a painstaking half-century (slowest by an Indian in last 16 years) and failed to guide India past the finishing line. In a series that began as contest between the mismatches, going into the fifth and final ODI, West Indies have an opportunity to level the series. Full cricket scorecard: West Indies vs India, 5th ODI
India, who finished runners up in Champions Trophy last month, are the ranked No.3 ODI side. West Indies lie at No.9. A 2-2 is as good as win for West Indies and defeat for India, who must have expected nothing short of a whitewash. A 3-1 will appease them and that is what the Men in Blue will hunt for when they enter Sabina Park in Kingston for the final ODI.
West Indies’ happy venue
India are hot favourites when the strengths of the sides are compared. Apart from the gained momentum and confidence, West Indies have more to their weight plate — and that’s stats. Out of the 31 matches that has yielded results at Sabina Parkfor West Indies, they have won 24. That’s a success rate of over 77 per cent.
Their last defeat at this venue came in 2009 and that was against India. Since then they have won 9 consecutive matches here. 3 of those 9 wins have come against India (in 2009, 2011 and 2013). In a nutshell, West Indies relish playing at the Sabina Park.
Substitute for the oxidising wine
Dhoni may like to think of himself as a getting-better old wine but the apparent reality is his waning skills. Of late, he has found more failures as a finisher than success. There is little doubt over Dhoni’s abilities to keep scoring runs but the question lies if he is adding value according to modern ODI demands.
India have wasted an opportunity to try out young Rishabh Pant in the earlier matches. In the must-win encounter it is unlikely if India will experiment with a debutant wicketkeeper-batsman. Also, dropping a player of Dhoni’s repute will be too tough an ask for Indian cricket, who have a hero-worship culture.
Hardik Pandya wishes to slip into those massive Dhoni boots. His cameo raised hopes for India in the Champions Trophy final and almost won it for India at North Sound.
“I feel that you should be brave enough to do things. I back my game, I back myself, I see the situation and I like to play accordingly. I don’t count myself as a one-dimensional player. I feel that I should see the scoreboard and play accordingly. That’s how I’m going to learn cricket and that’s how I’m going to make sure that I finish the games,” Pandya announced before the final ODI.
Tight bowling vs Shot selection
West Indies learned an important lesson from Sunday’s victory. It was tight bowling, giving away bare minimum that resulted in Indian batsmen’s poor shot selection, something skipper Virat Kohli reasoned out as the cause of the defeat. Kohli himself fell to his opposite number Jason Holder’s short-ball tactics, twice in consecutive games.
‘Discipline’ and ‘consistency’ are not words one usually associates with West Indies but if they can maintain them and stifle the Indian run-flow again, they do stand a chance against the mighty opponents.
Likely XIs
West Indies will not like to tamper with their winning combination and one can expect the same XI.
West Indies (probable XI): Evin Lewis, Kyle Hope, Shai Hope (wk), Jason Mohammed, Roston Chase, Jason Holder (c), Rovman Powell, Ashley Nurse, Kesrick Williams, Devendra Bishoo, Alzarri Joseph.
India will look forward to field their strongest XI. Yuvraj Singh missed out on the last game due to a hamstring niggle. If the southpaw does not recover in time, Dinesh Karthik is expected to retain his place. Also, Ravichandran Ashwin and Bhuvneshwar Kumar are expected to walk into the XI.
India (probable XI): Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Virat Kohli (c), Dinesh Karthik/Yuvraj Singh, MS Dhoni (wk), Kedar Jadhav, Hardik Pandya, Kuldeep Yadav, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, UmeshYadav.
Pitch and weather conditions:
The wicket at Kingston has been good for batting in recent times. Expect the best surface seen so far in the series. However, there is a rain-threat hovering around. Weather god may eventually have a final say.
Will West Indies lose their seventh consecutive series against India or will we see a spirited side take the field; one demolished India 4-1 in 2006?
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