India vs West Indies 4th ODI Preview

Written by Rick John Henry for @Hollywoodbets. Follow them both on Twitter and Facebook now!


India vs West Indies | Friday 17 October | Dharamsala | 11:00

With the ODI series deliciously poised at 1-1, India are in the precarious position of relinquishing a dominance of the West Indies at home in the one-day game that has lasted the better part of a decade. The third ODI, scheduled for play in Visakhapatnam, was abandoned as a result of Cyclone Hudhud’s landfall at the port city. The sides now head straight for Dharamsala following India’s dismantling of the West Indians in Delhi. Nevertheless, the West Indies will enter the fourth ODI confident of victory as a good showing preceded their collapse last time out. It’s a matter of backbone, and it seems as if the West Indian one is becoming a bit more sturdy.

To Win
India 4/10
Tie 35/1
West Indies 2/1

India
The home side found scoring to be difficult after electing to bat in the second ODI, both at the beginning and end of their innings. They struggled to break the shackles against an accurate new-ball pairing and runs were only forthcoming to those with the patience to stick it out. Ajinkya Rahane and Ambati Rayudu’s almost painful partnership of 46 from 67 balls is a case in point and even Virat Kohli had to be circumspect in order to play himself in. He notched up a confidence-boosting score of 62 after a recent horror run, equalled by a fluent Suresh Raina. Raina’s comfort at the crease highlighted a man in form, but the loss of both him and Kohli caused the Indian innings to stall. A total of 263 in fifty overs was never going to be easy to chase on the sluggish wicket and once the spinners, Amit Mishra in particular, found purchase, the West Indian innings began to unravel. Mohammed Shami recorded his best figures in ODIs with 4/36 and now has two consecutive four-wicket hauls against the West Indies.

West Indies
The players dispute in the West Indian camp that threatened to scupper the tour seems to be reaching some sort of resolution following strong action by captain Dwayne Bravo and his team. Bravo is now openly pushing for the whole West Indies Players Association board to resign and it should, at the very least, result in a reshuffle for the future. There is a lot of pressure on President Wavell Hinds to resign, though Hinds has stated that he and other executive members of the board will not step down unless the “majority of WIPA’s membership” wills it, as per the association rules.

Despite the administrative upheaval, the West Indies have given a good account of themselves on tour. A resounding first ODI victory was followed by a match that should have been won if not for a middle and lower-order implosion. Dwayne Smith narrowly missed a maiden ODI ton with his highest List A score, 97. It is common knowledge that Smith is a T20 specialist, but in 163 List A matches and 93 ODIs spanning ten years, he is yet to reach three figures. As an opening batsman, this is almost criminal. Unfortunately, the West Indies have lost opener Lendl Simmons for the rest of the tour to a back injury and with Gayle’s absence, it leaves options limited at the top of the order. Indeed, Dwayne Bravo opened in the first ODI, was replaced by Darren Bravo in the second, with Kieron Pollard moving up to bat in the top three for the first time. In their last outing, when the scoring rate was suffocated, the batsmen panicked and threw their wickets away. This could be related to a terrible win percentage of 12.5% when chasing totals of 250 or more.

Venue
Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association Stadium in Dharamsala plays host to this crucial fixture and with a backdrop of the Himalayan mountains, provides a serene setting for such a tension-filled match-up. It has only hosted one previous ODI, between India and England, which the tourists won by seven wickets. From an Indian perspective, it was only Suresh Raina who found any success with the bat and much will depend on him again here. Isolated thunderstorms are predicted, but whether they have any effect on the match remains to be seen.

VERDICT: West Indies 2/1
Despite their trouble at the top of the order and a characteristic middle-order collapse last time out, I’m tipping the West Indies to cause another upset and put themselves in a position to take the series outright. Sometimes it really does come down to the team who wants it more, and there seems to be a lack of hunger in the Indian set-up. Take the chance and back the Windies here.