PRE MATCH ANALYSIS
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Six losses in the last eight ODIs, series defeats against Australia, Ireland, and India while reeling at eighth on the ICC ODI Super League table. Fair to say that things are looking extremely grim for West Indies in the 50-over format.
Skipper Kieron Pollard, prior to the ongoing series, underlined the need for his side to bat out the full 50 overs, but two games in, it’s not even been close. The visitors have managed to bat out just 43.5 and 46 overs and even that has been a result of resilience shown by the lower-order.
Batting, particularly top-order batting, continues to be a huge concern, and whether the Windies walk away with anything will fully depend on if their batters turn up.
The bowlers, to their credit, have taken the fight to India, but, as has been the case for a very long time in the 50-over format, their efforts consistently continue to be nullified by the incompetence of the batters. Should this pattern extend into the third and final ODI, a whitewash is pretty much guaranteed.
Friday’s encounter might be a dead rubber for the hosts, but with valuable Super League points at stake for the Windies.
Spotlight on the long-misfiring Darren Bravo
Thus far this series, openers Shai Hope and Brandon King, between them, have scored 66 runs at an average of 16.50. Lack of runs from their bat has significantly contributed to the side’s downfall in the series, but West Indies know that both Hope and King are two players worth investing in.
The same, however, cannot be said about Darren Bravo, who despite being 33 and having played over 120 ODIs, continues to be a serial underperformer.
The left-hander scored a mere 19 runs across the first two ODIs, and he has now reached a point where his selection cannot be justified by any means.
In his last 20 ODIs, dating back to March 2019, Bravo has averaged 20.86 while striking at 70, and even these numbers are bolstered by the ton against Sri Lanka last year. Remove that and he averages a shocking 15.21, being dismissed under 20 or less a staggering 12 times, including in each of his last 5 ODI knocks.
Notwithstanding the current state of the series, perhaps the time has come for West Indies to revisit their obsession with Bravo.
Since March 2019, the 33-year-old has played more knocks at No.3 than any other Windies batter, but despite producing unacceptable returns - 147 runs in 12 innings @ 16.33 - he continues to be vehemently backed by the management.
Consistency and stability are the hallmarks of a good number three but as things stand, Bravo is providing the Windies with neither.
With 10 Super League points still at stake come Friday, the time might be right for Pollard & Co. to lay their faith in a different individual.
With series in the bag, will we see more funky calls from team India?
For the third white ball series in a row, head coach Rahul Dravid has been tasked with selecting an appropriate XI for a dead rubber. And with the shock move to open with Rishabh Pant in the second ODI, when the series was still on the line, it is fair to say that nobody quite knows what ‘The Wall’ has up his sleeve for Friday’s encounter.
Skipper Rohit Sharma confirmed that Shikhar Dhawan will be returning for the third game, but what remains to be seen is who he will replace. Pant looks unlikely to make way, particularly after the knock to the wrist Rahul suffered in the second game, thus it will most likely be one of Suryakumar or Hooda that will be left out.
But leaving out either will be a tricky call, for while Suryakumar has been in supreme form with the bat in ODIs, Hooda provides the side with the sixth bowling option that Rohit seems to be fond of.
A left-field choice will be to rest Virat Kohli, but one suspects that the former skipper would prefer to get as many games as possible under his belt, with him not currently in the greatest of nicks.
There will certainly be the temptation to hand maiden caps to the likes of Avesh Khan and Ravi Bishnoi, but the management will also have to evaluate whether it will be wise to break up the bowling unit that did an exceptional job in each of the first two games, with all bowlers finding their rhythm.
Friday’s game might be an encounter with little significance, but coach Dravid has plenty of good headaches that will have to be dealt with.
Dew set to keep both teams in suspense
When stand-in skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss in the second ODI, he felt that it was a pretty straightforward decision to chase, especially with dew primed to come in during the evening. But to his and his team’s dismay, there was little to no dew on Wednesday, something that allowed the Indian bowlers to defend 237 without any anxiety.
“I was a little surprised to see no dew,” admitted the Indian skipper, as his side encountered unexpected fortune.
Now, despite the unexpected turn of events in the second ODI, it goes without saying that the team that wins the toss on Friday will, in all likelihood, opt to chase. But it will certainly be worth keeping an eye on the outfield and the conditions as the evening beckons.
Absence of dew will make it a level playing field for both sides, but the chasing side might feel let down by mother nature should the outfield continue to be dry as a bone for a second game running.
Probable XIs
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant (wk), Suryakumar Yadav, Washington Sundar, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna.
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (wk), Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (c), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Kemar Roach.