In one of the bigger surprises in cricket in recent times the West Indies managed to force a decider in their ODI series with India when they won the fourth match of the series in Antigua on Sunday. That decider takes place in Jamaica on Thursday.
Although it is being dubbed as a decider only one side can win the series and that is India. They lead 2-1 with just the one match left but a win on their favourite ground will series a share of it for the West Indies which will be seen as a positive result.
West Indies
I would imagine the West Indies could still be wondering how they won the previous match. They were defending a nothing looking total but they did it with a little to spare in the end of what was a crazy match. They now head to a ground which suits them a lot better and they should do so full of confidence.
We shouldn’t go overboard with their win on Sunday although at the same time we shouldn’t take anything away from them. The concern heading into that match was their batting and it continued to stink the place out but their bowlers got them out of trouble. If they can just bat better here they would have every chance.
India
India changed their side for the previous match and paid the price. I am not convinced the team changes were the reason for the defeat but when you do make changes when the series is still live and lose you make a rod for your own back. We can expect India to be bang up for this match as a result of that.
India will know their batsmen won’t mess things up like they did in Antigua too often so they shouldn’t be too hard on themselves but it should act as the wake up call they might well have needed at the same time. I expect a bang on it India here with the bat and the ball as they look to win the series.
Team News
West Indies may well go into this match unchanged after ending their rut in the previous match. They will need to be better than they were then but confidence should assist with that.
India rested Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Ravi Ashwin in the previous game and came up short. They could both return as could Yuvraj Singh who was nursing a hamstring niggle.
Sabina Park
This is the 38th time there will be an ODI held on the Jamaican ground. The West Indies absolutely love playing here. In the 32 matches they have played at this venue they have won 24 and lost just seven with a no result included too. India have a 2-5 record from their seven matches.
This is said to be the best batting wicket in the Caribbean now. I am not so sure about that but it is a track with pace and bounce so everyone will be happy with what they see at this famous venue.
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Betting
I am only going in with a couple of bets for this finale. After landing a punt on the under for runs in the previous match I am going with the overs in this one. The line is up to 500.5 which I think is quite low for this ground.
If India bat first I would be confident of them pushing towards 300 and if the West Indies bat first their stroke players should get the ball coming onto the bat to give them value for their shots. It is a decent scoring ground this so I’m expecting more than 500 runs to close off the series.
MS Dhoni arrives in Jamaica off the back of two 50s in Antigua and at 8/1 he looks to be a decent price to top score for the tourists in this match. He top scored in the third ODI and was six short in the previous match. Those two efforts along make him a big price but even more so on a track West Indies bowl so well on.
Tips
Back Over 500.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
Back it here:
Back MS.Dhoni Top India Batsman for a 1/10 stake at 9.00 with 888sport
Back him here:
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