 The fourth ODI between India and West Indies will be played at the North Sound
in Antigua. The two teams have been contrasting in their performance so
far and that has reflected in the scoreline. India has already won the series
and lead 3-0 but that means that the West Indies can now play like they have nothing
to lose in the series.
This is exactly what had happened in their series against Pakistan. The West Indians had lost the first three games and were out of the series before
coming back to win the last two games. Given the way it panned out in the third
ODI, things couldn't have gotten worse for India - any worse, they would have
lost the game. So, the Indians need to be wary of the way they have been playing
and that will mean that they need to bat much better.
Click for Live Score Card of India Vs West Indies
Three games in a row, the bowlers have done a good job in restricting the West
Indian side and in all three games, the batting has looked anywhere between
a bit to very shaky for India. In the first and the third ODI, the top-order
collapsed before Rohit Sharma did his bit to win the games for the side.
In the second ODI, Virat Kohli overcame the initial shaky period to guide the
side to a comfortable win over the West Indian side.
The bowling, as said before is one to watch out for the Indians. Amit Mishra
has barely been picked, Harbhajan Singh has been his usual steady self,
the fast bowlers have done a good job as well and it is only the period when
the part-time fifth bowler comes on that the Indians have leaked anything. This
means that the side will go into this fourth ODI with the same playing eleven
- or at least not change the bowling line-up around too much.
On the other hand, West Indies may have been happy to discover a new all-rounder
in Andre Russell, but the question is whether they have the team to beat the Indians.
So far, it has looked like they have been competitive but they have not been able
to finish off things too well because they do not know how to do that.
Chris Gayle is wanted in the team, but even for the rest, there is a need to
get going with the batting once they have got starts. India will be favourites
to win this one.
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