 The fact that the fifth and final ODI between India and West Indies at
Chennai on Sunday is inconsequential could not have been asserted with more authority.
It took only one man - Virender Sehwag - to seal the fate for West Indies in the
record-breaking fourth game of the series.
For all their worries, India have a new worry - the magnitude of unpredictability.
For a man whose previous 10 innings yielded 216 runs, to score a mammoth 219
in just one match speaks volumes of it. It also overshadowed a long-awaited
return to form, much like Sehwag's, of Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina.
Click for Live Score Card of India Vs West Indies
With most of their batsmen having played at least one decent innings, the Indian
fans can safely assume that someone will stand up to the task and the runs will
come. The bowlers though will be hoping to stamp their foot more prominently,
as runs continue to be leaked. Although they had a mountain of runs to play with,
the bowlers will be hoping to learn how to keep it steady and tight when it comes
to normal-scoring matches in Australia.
For the West Indies, they have a tough ask deciding whether the third ODI performance
was a one-off or the fourth ODI one. While they will be hoping that latter is
true, indications have been that their win in Ahmedabad was a stroke of luck that
took them all the way.
The team had a forgetful day in the last match and the team management will
be trying to get those memories out of the players' heads. The batsmen need
to overcome the habit of throwing wickets after getting the starts. Though the
bowlers need to work hard, they also need to come up with a plan that is nothing
short of a genius to outdo the likes of Virender Sehwag on his best days.
The Chidambram Stadium in Chennai has produced plenty of high scoring matches,
and Saeed Anwar also scored the then-record of 194 at this ground. These facts
combined with recent history suggest that India should be able to make
it 4-1 with ease.
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