3 areas of improvement for India in 3rd ODI against West Indies

Team India had to taste defeat at the hands of the West Indies in the second ODI of the series. Notably, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested for this game with Hardik Pandya named the replacement captain. But the team faced a batting collapse from 90/1 to 181 all out. West Indies chased down the moderate target with relative ease as skipper Shai Hope’s match-winning 63* pushed them over the finish line. Here are three areas of improvement for India in the 3rd ODI against West Indies to be played at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad.

1. Middle-order batting

India’s middle order has been a constant problem since the first ODI. Key players like Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have not been able to bat like their usual selves. The problem has been a longer one for Surya, who has visibly struggled in the 50-over format. In the first ODI, they chased a modest target yet lost five wickets on the way. In the second ODI, the flaw was further exposed and punished by the hosts. Openers Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill aside, no other batter surpassed the 30-run mark. Notably, Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya were again among the underperformers. This time another batter joined them, Sanju Samson, who failed to capitalize on his chance, yet again.

2. Spin bowling

This is a surprise inclusion. India’s spin bowling has always been one of their key strengths. However, the story was the opposite in the second ODI at Barbados. The spinner fared brilliantly in the first ODI at the same venue, sharing seven wickets among them. Kuldeep Yadav won the Man of the Match for his spell yielding figures of 4/6 in three overs. Ravindra Jadeja was also well-praised for his 3/37. The conditions in the second ODI seemed the same as West Indies spinners Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shephard shared six wickets equally among them. However, when it was India’s turn to bowl, playing with three spinners – Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, only Kuldeep scalped one wicket while the other two went wicketless. This is a massive shock and Indian spinners need to get their act together.

3. Restoring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the Playing XI

This is certainly not the time to fool around, Team India will only play one more ODI before they start their Asia Cup ODI 2023 campaign, the decider ODI at Trinidad. As such, this is not the time to experiment with the Playing XI and mess up the batting order. Restoring Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma will be the sensible thing to do in the third ODI. There are five T20Is to go on this tour and that should provide good windows to try out newer faces in strange roles but when it comes to ODIs, keeping things traditional and professional is the right thing to do. There are two major ODI tournaments upcoming – the Asia Cup ODI 2023 and the ODI World Cup 2023. Team India should be ready with their game plan if they consider themselves serious contenders in both tourneys.