West Indies vs India
Date: Sunday Jul 5, 2009
Time : 09:30 local, 13:30 GMT
Live West Indies vs India
ODI Series
Venue: Gros Islet
Live Link
It may have been a dismal World Twenty20 for India, but when it comes to one-dayers they have been unstoppable over the past year. MS Dhoni's boys have strung together four comfortable series victories since the defeat in the Asia Cup final, and with plenty of ODIs coming up India will want to extend that winning sequence with a success on Sunday.
On the other hand, West Indies haven't won a series against serious opposition in more than a year. To salvage this one, they need their pace spearhead Jerome Taylor to fire; in the absence of Fidel Edwards there's more responsibility on Taylor, whose performances have mirrored West Indies' fortunes in this series. Unless he and his pace-bowling colleagues provide the early breakthroughs, West Indies will have a tough time against the savage hitters in the Indian middle order.
Friday's game at the Beausejour Stadium was shortened to a 22-over affair due to rain, and showers are forecast for Sunday morning as well, raising the possibility of another curtailed game.
The absence of several big names opened up the opportunity for Dinesh Karthik to get an extended run in the side. With Dhoni firmly ensconced in the keeper's spot, it was as a specialist batsman that Karthik had to make an impression, and he's delivered. His 67 in the first game helped re-build the innings after two early wickets, and a 47 on Friday gave India the perfect launchpad. Runako Morton has been providing the solidity at the top of the order to complement Chris Gayle's flamboyance. The pair have provided decent starts in each of the games, reducing the pressure on the West Indies middle order. Morton is also the home side's leading run-getter this series, with 149 runs.
It will be hard to drop allrounder Abhishek Nayar, who didn't get to bat or bowl on his debut on Friday, without giving him a chance to prove his credentials, meaning Ravindra Jadeja could remain on the sidelines. Fast bowler RP Singh has been ineffective in the series so far, which might lead to Praveen Kumar returning. With part-timers Rohit Sharma, Yuvraj Singh, and Yusuf Pathan complementing Harbhajan Singh in the spin department, Pragyan Ojha is likely to continue warming the bench.
India (probable) 1 Dinesh Karthik, 2 Gautam Gambhir, 3 Rohit Sharma, 4 Yuvraj Singh, 5 MS Dhoni, 6 Yusuf Pathan, 7 Abhishek Nayar, 8 Harbhajan Singh, 9 Praveen Kumar, 10 Ashish Nehra, 11 Ishant Sharma
With West Indies naming only a 13-man squad, there isn't too much room for them to tinker. Narsingh Deonarine and Lionel Baker are the two players who sat out on Friday, and it's unlikely they will get to play on Sunday either.
West Indies (probable) 1 Chris Gayle (capt), 2 Runako Morton, 3 Ramnaresh Sarwan, 4 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Darren Bravo, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Jerome Taylor, 9 David Bernard, 10 Suleiman Benn, 11 Ravi Rampaul.
