3rd ODI: West Indies elect to field; Hardik to lead
West Indies handed India a six-wicket defeat in the second ODI in Barbados to level the three-match series. India's strategy of testing the bench strength backfired. The Caribbeans, who did not qualify for the upcoming 50-over World Cup, made the most of it. In the series decider in Trinidad, West Indies have elected to field, while Hardik Pandya continues to lead Team India.
Rohit, Kohli to miss 3rd ODI; Ruturaj, Unadkat roped in
India (Playing XI): Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya (captain), Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Kuldeep Yadav, and Mukesh Kumar. West Indies (Playing XI): Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Alick Athanaze, Shai Hope (captain and wicket-keeper), Shimron Hetmyer, Keacy Carty, Romario Shepherd, Yannic Cariah, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, and Jayden Seales.
Pitch report, conditions, and streaming details
The Brian Lara Stadium, Trinidad, will host the match on August 1. The pitch here has been on the slower side. Therefore, the batters will get runs only when they get set. 160 reads the average first innings score here in ODIs. Fans can watch the match live on Doordarshan from 7:00pm IST in various languages and live-stream on FanCode and JioCinema.
Will WI carry their momentum?
In the second ODI in Barbados, West Indies defeated India for the first time in ODIs since December 2019. The Men in Blue beat WI in nine successive ODIs in this period.
Here are the key performers
Although the Indian batters seem to be struggling, youngster Ishan has fared well. He already has two fifties in two games in the series (107 runs). WI skipper Hope is the only batter with over 100 runs in the series. Spinners Kuldeep and Motie jointly lead the wickets tally, having taken five wickets. The former averages just 7.20 after two games.
