Opening is proving to be a serious problem area for West Indies. Chandrapaul Hemraj and Kieran Powell so far have only one half-century between them in four ODIs – Powell scored 51 in the first match at Guwahati. Hemraj’s average in this series so far is 17.50, with 32 being his highest. Marlon Samuels, the senior-most player, has scored just 40 runs in four matches. And yet, the Caribbeans are still alive in the series and a win at Thiruvananthapuram in the final game on Thursday will see them achieve something near-impossible.
Opening is proving to be a serious problem area for West Indies. Chandrapaul Hemraj and Kieran Powell so far have only one half-century between them in four ODIs – Powell scored 51 in the first match at Guwahati. Hemraj’s average in this series so far is 17.50, with 32 being his highest. Marlon Samuels, the senior-most player, has scored just 40 runs in four matches. And yet, the Caribbeans are still alive in the series and a win at Thiruvananthapuram in the final game on Thursday will see them achieve something near-impossible.
No overseas team has managed to win a bilateral ODI series in India since South Africa trumped the hosts 3-2 in 2015. West Indies sans the franchise cricket galacticos – Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell – can’t match the Proteas, for India have already taken an unassailable 2-1 lead, with a game ending in a tie. But West Indies can take a shot at squaring the series, which would feel like victory for a side that had been disrespectfully called the Ranji Trophy Plate Group level at the start of the tour.
Shimron Hetmyer and the excellent Shai Hope are the reasons — Jason Holder deserves an honourable mention – why the tourists have managed to take the fight to a full-strength India. Together, Hetmyer and Hope have scored 500 runs in four matches – 250 each, one century each. The IPL franchises must have taken note, but that’s for the future. For West Indies to pull off an upset, the two in-form batters must once again fire at the Greenfield Stadium, which would be hosting its first ODI.
The venue had hosted a T20 international against New Zealand last year that got reduced to an eight-over-a-side contest because of rain. The ball turned square on a damp surface and stroke-making was difficult. Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance had secured a six-run win for the hosts after they made 67/5 in eight overs. The pitch for the final ODI tomorrow is expected to play better, although humidity could still be a factor. “The wicket looks good,” West Indies fielding coach Nic Pothas said on the match eve.
For the Caribbeans, though, to deny India a series victory, they will have to get over the 224-run hiding at the CCI in the last match. Hope and Hetmyer fell cheaply at the half-empty Brabourne Stadium and the West Indies batting imploded. India, on the other hand, will carry forward the positivity of unearthing a new No. 4. The World Cup is still about eight months away and Ambati Rayudu will face a sterner test in Australia against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. For the moment, though, it feels like the 33-year-old has provided the team management with a solution as far as the No.4 slot is concerned.
His wonderful century under pressure in the last game was the biggest positive for India in a resounding win.
India’s batting of late has been top-heavy, especially after MS Dhoni’s slide as a batsman. In this series also, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have done the bulk of scoring. Kohli had hit three consecutive hundreds before he fell prey to law of averages at CCI. But Rohit more than made up for his skipper’s rare failure, scoring a scintillating 137-ball 162. Kohli has 420 runs in four matches so far, with an average of 140.00. Rohit, too, is going at a 100-plus average, with a tally of 326 runs in four games.
Refreshingly, Rayudu is third in the list with 217 runs. After a Man-of-the-Series performance in the Asia Cup in Dubai, Shikhar Dhawan has been a little low-key here. The left-hander has been wasting his starts. But Rayudu has stood up to be counted.
Ahead of the fifth ODI, the local fans placed a massive, 35-foot cut-out of Dhoni in front of the stadium to greet the legend. Dhoni needs only one more run to get into the elite, 10k ODI club. But the fact is that his declining batting prowess – 50 runs in three innings in this series – has made the middle-order vulnerable.
From that point of view, Rayudu’s good form holds even greater significance. India are likely to go unchanged. Khaleel Ahmed bowled brilliantly in Mumbai, claiming 3/13 and making a serious impression with the way he moved the ball into the right-handers. And now that Kedar Jadhav is available to bowl his slingy off-spin in the middle-overs, India can afford to leave Yuzvendra Chahal out of the playing XI. Ravi Jadeja being an allrounder offers a better balance.
No overseas team has managed to win a bilateral ODI series in India since South Africa trumped the hosts 3-2 in 2015. West Indies sans the franchise cricket galacticos – Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Andre Russell – can’t match the Proteas, for India have already taken an unassailable 2-1 lead, with a game ending in a tie. But West Indies can take a shot at squaring the series, which would feel like victory for a side that had been disrespectfully called the Ranji Trophy Plate Group level at the start of the tour.
Shimron Hetmyer and the excellent Shai Hope are the reasons — Jason Holder deserves an honourable mention – why the tourists have managed to take the fight to a full-strength India. Together, Hetmyer and Hope have scored 500 runs in four matches – 250 each, one century each. The IPL franchises must have taken note, but that’s for the future. For West Indies to pull off an upset, the two in-form batters must once again fire at the Greenfield Stadium, which would be hosting its first ODI.
The venue had hosted a T20 international against New Zealand last year that got reduced to an eight-over-a-side contest because of rain. The ball turned square on a damp surface and stroke-making was difficult. Jasprit Bumrah’s brilliance had secured a six-run win for the hosts after they made 67/5 in eight overs. The pitch for the final ODI tomorrow is expected to play better, although humidity could still be a factor. “The wicket looks good,” West Indies fielding coach Nic Pothas said on the match eve.
For the Caribbeans, though, to deny India a series victory, they will have to get over the 224-run hiding at the CCI in the last match. Hope and Hetmyer fell cheaply at the half-empty Brabourne Stadium and the West Indies batting imploded. India, on the other hand, will carry forward the positivity of unearthing a new No. 4. The World Cup is still about eight months away and Ambati Rayudu will face a sterner test in Australia against the likes of Mitchell Starc and Pat Cummins. For the moment, though, it feels like the 33-year-old has provided the team management with a solution as far as the No.4 slot is concerned.
His wonderful century under pressure in the last game was the biggest positive for India in a resounding win.
India’s batting of late has been top-heavy, especially after MS Dhoni’s slide as a batsman. In this series also, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have done the bulk of scoring. Kohli had hit three consecutive hundreds before he fell prey to law of averages at CCI. But Rohit more than made up for his skipper’s rare failure, scoring a scintillating 137-ball 162. Kohli has 420 runs in four matches so far, with an average of 140.00. Rohit, too, is going at a 100-plus average, with a tally of 326 runs in four games.
Refreshingly, Rayudu is third in the list with 217 runs. After a Man-of-the-Series performance in the Asia Cup in Dubai, Shikhar Dhawan has been a little low-key here. The left-hander has been wasting his starts. But Rayudu has stood up to be counted.
Ahead of the fifth ODI, the local fans placed a massive, 35-foot cut-out of Dhoni in front of the stadium to greet the legend. Dhoni needs only one more run to get into the elite, 10k ODI club. But the fact is that his declining batting prowess – 50 runs in three innings in this series – has made the middle-order vulnerable.
From that point of view, Rayudu’s good form holds even greater significance. India are likely to go unchanged. Khaleel Ahmed bowled brilliantly in Mumbai, claiming 3/13 and making a serious impression with the way he moved the ball into the right-handers. And now that Kedar Jadhav is available to bowl his slingy off-spin in the middle-overs, India can afford to leave Yuzvendra Chahal out of the playing XI. Ravi Jadeja being an allrounder offers a better balance.