TAROUBA, Trinidad, CMC – West Indies’ convincing six-wicket victory over India in last Saturday’s second One-Day International has raised their hopes of ending their near two decade-long wait for an ODI series win against the Asian giants.
The two teams will clash at the Brian Lara Stadium here today in the decisive third ODI, with West Indies fully aware of the significance of a series win after last beating India in a bilateral series in 2006.
When they lost the opener by five-wickets at Kensington Oval last Thursday after being dismissed for a paltry 114, the series seemed to be taking an all too familiar direction.
However, captain Shai Hope produced a high class unbeaten half-century in the second ODI as West Indies chased down 181 on a dodgy pitch, to level the series and set up a decider in southern Trinidad.
“It (the win) definitely has us in good spirits. We have the series level and we’re trying to go into the last game with a good mindset and try and close out the series,” said batsman Keacy Carty, whose unbeaten 48 in a 91-run, unbroken fifth wicket stand with Hope, proved the foundation of Saturday’s successful run chase.
“Like I said, we’re in good spirits. It’s been a while since we’ve beaten India in an ODI series so the guys are in good spirits and are looking to go into the game strong. Definitely we’re looking to win the series.”
Nothing such was even fathomable earlier this month when the Caribbean side missed out a spot at the 50-overs World Cup in India later this year, following their nightmare showing at the qualifiers in Zimbabwe.
After winning their opening matches against United States and Nepal, West Indies crashed to stunning defeats to Zimbabwe and the Netherlands, before also losing their first match of the Super Six, second round to Scotland, to bow out unceremoniously.
Carty, who came in for the two final games of the qualifiers and got 29 and 87, said a series win would be an excellent boost for the team following the recent disappointment.
“It would send a good message, coming from Zimbabwe,” said the 26-year-old right-hander, who has played 15 ODIs since making his debut just over a year ago.
“Obviously that was disappointing. If we could beat a team like India, it would do the world of good for us.”
With former white-ball captain Nicholas Pooran and marquee all-rounder Jason Holder opting out of the series, Carty has had the opportunity to build on a decent start to a career which has seen him average nearly 37.
And while satisfied with his recent run-scoring, the St Maarten-born player said there was plenty of work ahead of him, in order to cement his place.
“Hopefully I can just be as consistent as possible. I guess for the last two games I’ve been on the right track but that’s only two games. I’ve just got to look ahead and keep working hard,” he stressed.
“Obviously it’s always good to score runs. Runs give you confidence. I’m glad I was there to finish the job for the team and it was a good win for them.”
Today’s affair will be the first ever men’s ODI to be played at the Brian Lara Stadium.
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES – Shai Hope (captain), Rovman Powell, Alick Athanaze, Kyle Mayers, Yannic Cariah, Keacy Carty, Dominic Drakes, Shimron Hetmyer, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, Kevin Sinclair, Oshane Thomas, Jayden Seales
INDIA – Rohit Sharma (captain), Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Virat Kohli, Surya Kumar Yadav, Sanju Samson (wicket-keeper), Ishan Kishan (wicket-keeper), Hardik Pandya (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohd. Siraj, Umran Malik, Mukesh Kumar.