New Delhi, Nov 27: Indian captain MS Dhoni won the toss and chose to bowl against the West Indies in the series deciding third ODI at the Green Park in Kanpur on Wednesday.
Both India and the West Indies are unchanged from the last match.
It will be two-paced wicket and the colour of the pitch is changing since morning. First few overs it will be tough but as the day progresses, it will be good for batting.
After being mauled in the two Tests and then surrendering the opening ODI at Kochi, the visitors bounced back at Visakhapatnam to keep the series alive.
This has put Dhoni and his boys under pressure ahead of a tough tour of South Africa next month. With the series level at 1-1, any slip-up will dent the home team's reputation and confidence.
For Dhoni there are some problems that need quick-fix solutions. The most serious being the lack of expertise in bowling 'death overs'. Notwithstanding the dew factor, runs have flowed rather too easily in recent times, leaving Dhoni flummoxed. Bhuvaneshwar Kumar and Mohammad Shami have looked good with the new ball, but have failed to contain in the end overs.
The patchy form of Suresh Raina and Yuvraj Singh, the two left-handers in the middle-order, is also worrying. Both have looked out of sorts and the side would be hoping that they get some useful runs under their belt before the upcoming tour.
The most comforting factor for the side is the way the top-three — Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli have shaped. The trio has made it a habit of providing India with flying starts, and Dhoni has always been reassuring later in the order. Also the spinners — Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja — have been on the mark, and have kept things under control in the middle overs.
West Indies, on the other hand, can take heart from the fact that they have kept the series alive till the end despite losing their two best shorter-version players, Chris Gayle and Kieron Pollard, to injuries.
Interestingly, the West Indies have an all-win record at Green Park, having won both the matches they have played here.
Skipper Dwayne Bravo is a wily fox with the ball, and a dangerous customer with the bat. Also, playing in the IPL regularly has helped him to adjust to the conditions well.
Another one who has a good knowledge of the Indian pitches is Sunil Naraine. The way he kept Yuvraj guessing with his variety at Visakhapatnam must have made his skipper happy. The 'mystery' spinner can be quite handy here on a slow turner where the ball is likely to keep low as the match progresses.
With Johnson Charles, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons and Darren Sammy in their ranks, the Caribbeans bat deep down the order. Even if a couple of them can come up with good scores, it will test India's powerful batting line-up.
Teams:
India: MS Dhoni (Capt.), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Mohammed Shami.
West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (Capt.), Kieran Powell, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Darren Sammy, Jason Holder, Sunil Narine, Ravi Rampaul, Veerasammy Permaul.
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