West Indies and India have finished the Trinidad leg of their ongoing ODI series and on Friday the Antigua section of the tour will begin. The two sides play two pivotal matches there in the next three days, matches which are likely to define the outcome of the series.
India thrashed the West Indies in the second ODI on Sunday and can seal a share of the series with a win in this third match while a West Indies win would set the last two matches up very nicely.
West Indies
You would have to say it was a disappointing effort from the West Indies in the last match. They had the benefit of winning the toss in favourable conditions but were unable to penetrate with the ball and never looked interested in chasing down the total with the bat. It was a performance of a side who’ve totally lost their way.
You can always tell a side who lack confidence and plans in this format of the game by the amount of players they keep changing and the West Indies have brought two more into their squad for these matches as they search for something to work rather than formulating a plan and working towards it.
India
If we had any concerns over how India would be after relinquishing their Champions Trophy title we can put them to bed because they have played one and a half perfect matches so far. In truth they didn’t need to do much to win the previous game but they showed they meant business in the ruthless way they went about it.
When you have a batting line up in the form that their one is then matches are pretty routine but as has been the case for a while their bowling attack doesn’t get anywhere near the cricket it deserves. They have variety and plenty of skill and unlike in days past they have no weak link there which makes them tough to beat.
Team News
West Indies have dumped Kieran Powell and Jonathan Carter from their squad and have added Kyle Hope and Sunil Ambris. Both men are batsmen and could come into the side although Rovman Powell is on the fringes of a look in.
India have no need to make changes so unless they want to try people out or give a rest to players I would imagine they will be unchanged. They might wait until the series is safe before changing.
Sir Vivian Richards Stadium
The next two matches in this series will be played at this Antigua venue which is fairly new having only been used for the first time in the 2007 World Cup. In total there have been 15 ODIs here with West Indies having a 2-9 record from their 11 matches at the venue. India have a win and a defeat.
There have been some high scoring matches here and some indifferent scores but we should see a better deck for batting than the one in Trinidad which I’m sure will appeal to the Indians.
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Betting
I am finding this match tricky to bet on based on West Indies’ rotten batting performance in the previous match. If they have that attitude in this one then they will get spanked again but some of the handicap lines are of a size where we might need them to have that attitude and I’m not sure they will have it.
With that in mind I’m going to go with a couple of bets which haven’t done me any harm so far in the series. Shikhar Dhawan has continued his recent form with scores of 87 and 63 in this series. He has a runs line of 30.5 which looks very low. He has covered this in eight of his last nine knocks and the overs looks an obvious play.
I’m also going to take Kuldeep Yadav to be the top India bowler. Heading into the series the West Indies had problems playing mystery spin and there was nothing in the previous match to suggest anything has changed. While Yadav was expensive he took three wickets which was enough to be the top bowler and I fancy he can repeat that here.
Tips
Back S.Dhawan Over 30.5 runs for a 4/10 stake at 1.85 with Ladbrokes
Back him here:
DEAD HEAT – Back K.Yadav Top India Bowler for a 2/10 stake at 5.00 with Paddy Power
Back him here:
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