Once again, Hardik Pandya walked out for the coin toss as ODI captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were rested for the series decider at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on August 1. Pandya made two changes to the playing XI as Ruturaj Gaikwad and Jaydev Unadkat replaced Axar Patel and Umran Malik respectively.
“Two changes for us. Ruturaj comes in place of Umran and Unadkat comes in place of Axar. Going to the decider the boys are pumped up and looking forward to the game. Looks good (the surface), I don't think much will change, batting first gives a good opportunity for us to set a good total,” the all-rounder said at the coin toss.
Shai Hope won the toss and opted to field first. Hope did not make any change to the winning combination for the series decider.
“We are playing the same team. Looks a better surface and expect the ball to come on a bit better. It is all about the process and we need to be more consistent with the results as well,” Hope said.
The decider will be a good opportunity for Shubman Gill to shine as he has looked out of touch on the Caribbean tour so far.
"Not very satisfied with how things have gone on this tour for me. But I have been batting well. It's about the mental resilience and about converting starts into a big one. [Dismissal in the second ODI] it was a case of not executing well. I could have hit over covers than long-off. It was time to step on the accelerator - the mindset was to get towards 270,” Gill said before the third ODI
Gill did not blame his teammates for losing too many wickets in the middle overs. He backed his side to come out on top at the end of the day.
“Not easy for any middle order batter to rotate strike in these conditions. West Indies bowlers have done well and bowled in tight areas. Hopefully we'll be able to turn this around and win the series,” he added.
West Indies Playing XI: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope(w/c), Shimron Hetmyer, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
India Playing XI: Ishan Kishan(w), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya(c), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldeep Yadav, Mukesh Kumar
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