India vs West Indies 3rd ODI; Indian head coach Rahul Dravid is in doubt about whether to continue the match with the existing squad or to shuffle the squad to give chances to players like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan, or Arshdeep Singh.
With the 2 close victories against West Indies, team India has sealed the 3-match series 2-0 and now, the two will square off in the 3rd and final ODI match on 27th July 2022 Wednesday at Queens Park, Oval. The former Indian captain and head coach Dravid encouraged the continuity formula quite a lot and experimented with the same combination for the matches irrespective of the results. But after India sealed the series, many expect Dravid to shuffle the squad to test the bench strength for the future.
Will Ishan Kishan, Arshdeep Singh, or Ruturaj Gaikwad gets a go in the 3rd ODI is the question raised by Cricket fans.
The West Indies series is more of a test of bench strength with the absence of top players Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, K. L. Rahul, Jasprit Bumrah, and Hardik Pandya, but it is going well with the strongest XI. Now, a change inside the squads is unnecessary compared to their performance in the previous matches.
Everyone in the squad has performed admirably in the first two ODIs except Shardul Thakur, but he also picked up regular wickets in spite of being very expensive in the matches. Avesh Khan also had a poor day on his ODI debut in the 2nd ODI match. But for Dravid, they are all set to play the 3rd ODI.
Dravid might be tempted to try out the reserved players, but he may have to maintain a fine balance in the team.
Ruturaj Gaikwad would be preferred over Shubhman Gill, but Gill’s 64 and 43 in the previous matches would not allow him to sit out. Gaikwad had got a full South Africa series but failed to perform well against the quality pace.
Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson may continue playing the series with their fifties in the last game. Suryakumar Yadav had twin failures in the 1st two games, but considering Ishan Kishan instead of Yadav is in doubt. Kishan can use the powerplay overs well, but Samson is the better option here.
Ravindra Jadeja was the allotted vice-captain of the West Indies series but he never played any matches due to his knee niggle. If Jadeja is available in the final game, Axar Patel should be neglected. But Patel’s unbeaten 64 in the second game led team India to win the match. So, leaving Patel would feel hard for the team.
Arshdeep Singh can be tried out in the place of Avesh Khan as he was very expensive in the last match. He has given 54 runs in his wicket-less six overs.
If the coach prefers to choose two left-arm spinners, Chahal may be omitted. But sacrificing Chahal is a little bit of risk in the bowling line-up.
West Indies played impressive cricket in the ODI series despite losing the 2 matches. They will surely look for a soothing win before entering into the T20 format. In the second ODI, West Indies openers gave an attacking start with Shai Hope’s century and they finished the game with a massive 311/6 in the 50 overs. Alzarri Joseph and Jayden Seales were excellent in the bowling line-up.
West Indies have capable players like Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder, and Romario Shepherd. They will aim to put an end to their losing streak in ODIs as they lose to Bangladesh 0-3 in the preceding series. West Indies has now 8 continuous losses in ODIs.
On the other hand, India made history on Sunday as they had 12 back-to-back consecutive series win against West Indies in ODIs. The last time West Indies defeated India in an ODI is in 2006 under the captaincy of Brian Lara. The 1-4 series defeat came under the captaincy of head coach Rahul Dravid.
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