West Indies vs India

Having beaten the rain in the third Test last week India were able to win the series against West Indies with a match to spare but that doesn’t mean that they go into the final Test on Thursday with nothing to play for.

Were Virat Kohli’s side to win in Trinidad then they will move to the number one spot in the Test rankings which is something they have been aiming to do for a little while. West Indies will be out to stop that by restoring some pride with a win of their own.

West Indies

In truth the West Indies have been outclassed all series and while they had their excellent day in Jamaica in the second Test when they batted brilliantly on the final day to secure a draw had there not been a whole day of rain in that match they would have lost that too.

At times they have bowled really well in the series without getting complete support in the field it has to be said but their top order has been a bit of a shambles and try as they might they can’t find a decent opening combination and as a result they can’t lay any sort of platform for an attacking middle order to build on.

India

The Indians will be delighted with how this series has gone so far. When they have batted they have gone big most of the time and they have shown good patience with the ball and when the chances have come along they have taken them. Whisper it quietly but they are turning into quite an efficient unit.

Their main test in this match will be to sustain their intensity for one more match but Virat Kohli is pretty intense on the cricket field at the best of times so I’m not expecting that to be an issue. His side will be looking to finish with a flourish and push for that number one spot.

Team News

West Indies might look to play a second spinner in which case Devendra Bishoo could come back into the team. Which seamer is left out will probably depend on workloads. Given that he has played all three matches Shannon Gabriel could sit this one out.

India are expected to be unchanged despite the fact they have won the series already. They want the number one spot which is likely to ensure they don’t make any changes for changes sake heading into this one.

Queen’s Park Oval

This will be the 60^th time this famous Trinidad venue has held Test match cricket. Of the previous 59 matches the West Indies just about hold a winning record with 19 wins to 18 defeats with 22 draws. India are 3-3 from their 12 matches here with six draws.

In recent times this wicket has become more and more spin friendly and both captains have been quoted as saying that the track is dry and is going to assist the spinners heavily. You would think that will only play into the hands of the Indians once again.

Betting

If this wasn’t a dead rubber I would probably take India here as conditions look like they are going to suit them perfectly both with the bat and the ball but it is a dead rubber so I will leave the match betting alone, as is my style.

There is a performance I like though which is Ravi Ashwin. Usually I would run for the hills when a line of 152.5 is quoted but given the impact he has had in the series I’m not convinced that line is high enough I have to say.

With the bat Ashwin has a couple of centuries in the three first innings in this series and he also has a pair of five wicket hauls with the ball too. Indeed one of those hauls was 7/83 and if he repeats that here, which he could easily do given the spin friendly conditions, then this performance is as good as in.

Whether he does it with the bat or the ball or whether he needs a combination of the two I expect him to be involved in the match enough to get this line covered over the five days.