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After brilliant performances in the first two ODIs, the in-form Indians will most likely not take their foot off the pedal as they look to build on their world-record-winning feat with another clean sweep against the West Indies on Wednesday, July 26 at the Port of Spain. The Men in Blue created a world record on Sunday when they sealed a 12th consecutive series win in the ODI format against the West Indies — the most against a team.
This might allow head coach Rahul Dravid to try out a few of the reserve players but in such a situation, would also try to maintain a fine balance between keeping the momentum and testing his bench strength.
India might go in with the same top order. Shubman Gill will hope to continue his fine form, with two innings of 64 and 43. Meanwhile, Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson have also hit the straps with fifties in the last game. The only player in slight danger might be Suryakumar Yadav but he is not expected to cool his heels at the expense of Ishan Kishan despite his twin failures in the first two games.
Ravindra Jadeja was the designated vice-captain and the first-choice all-rounder for this series before he was ruled out of the first two games due to a knee niggle. It is still not certain whether Jadeja will be available for the final game but Axar Patel will hope to keep his place after his match and series-winning knock of 64 in the second game.
However, if Dhawan wants two play two left-arm spinners, then Yuzvendra Chahal could be asked to rest but that will be at the cost of sacrificing variety in the bowling attack.
Arshdeep Singh had a groin issue during the England ODIs but since he is a left-arm seam bowler, he could be tried in place of Avesh Khan, who was a tad expensive in the second ODI, with 54 runs conceded in his six wicket-less overs. With a style similar to Prasidh Krishna, only one of the two will be in the eleven.
As far as West Indies is concerned, they have capable players but as a unit, have failed to fire. They depend too much on individual performances, but as a collective, need to up their game. More importantly, the team hasn't shown resilience to win important moments. West Indies could do well to use the experience of Jason Holder in the final game of the series.
The hosts would aim to put an end to their losing streak in ODIs, which has now stretched to eight matches, including a 0-3 loss to Bangladesh in the preceding rubber.
Teams
West Indies
Nicholas Pooran (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Shamarh Brooks, Keacy Carty, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Keemo Paul, Rovman Powell and Jayden Seales, Hayden Walsh.
India
Shikhar Dhawan (captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.
