ODI 5: India vs West Indies
Jason Holder takes his team to Thiruvananthapuram on Thursday for ODI 5 India vs West Indies. The Windies still with a chance to level the series, but they will arrive at their final destination on the back of an almighty hammering.
India took a 2-1 lead in the series by winning in Mumbai by a massive 224 runs, and that will take some recovering from for the crushed visitors.
The Windies, however, are no longer new to bouncing back. After all, they have recovered once already this series, battling hard to level with a tie and a win after getting hammered out of sight in the first ODI of the series.
We knew we were in for an exciting series, and these two teams certainly haven’t disappointed as it comes to a dramatic climax.
Talking Points
All you SBOBET cricket fans know very well that the ODI World Cup is on the horizon, and India are right up there among the favourites. England, in particular, will be keeping up with the India vs West Indies news updates as Virat Kohli’s men fine-tune in time for the flagship competition coming up in 2019.
India also have a point to prove, having lost to England in both the ODI and Test Series this summer.
Sharma hits spectacular form
India opener Rohit Sharma dismantled the West Indies’ attack with ruthless efficiency in Mumbai. He recorded a swashbuckling 162 in 137 balls, smashing 24 boundaries along the way. And he was backed up superbly by Ambati Rayadu who scored a century in 81 balls as the two batsmen put on a third wicket partnership of 211.
That stand took the wind from the tourists’ sails, and they fell well short of the mammoth total of 377.
The problem for the West Indies remains that Sharma isn’t the only big threat. As well as Rayadu, Sharma’s opening partner Shikhar Darwan has looked dangerous—he hit an attacking 38 in the fourth match before pulling a catch to mid-wicket.
And then, of course, there’s skipper Virat Kohli who had plundered three centuries totalling 404 runs in the first three games. If the West Indies thought they had a great chance of nudging ahead in the series, dismissing him for just 16 in Mumbai, then Sharma clinically put paid to that.
Where can the Windies find inspiration?
In the absence of the big-hitting Chris Gayle, Captain Jason Holder is the West Indies’ talisman and leads from the front with both bat and ball. He was the only player to put up a real fight in Mumbai, remaining unbeaten on a determined 54 and taking his share of the toil with the ball.
Shai Hope went cheaply in the fourth ODI, run out for a duck, but the Windies have a lot of faith in this lad. He hit an unbeaten ton in the second ODI to grab a dramatic last-ball tie, and he could be the man to lead the batting attack in search of victory.
Kemar Roach took two wickets and bowled at a healthy pace, looking somewhere near his best, and then Holder can call on the ODI experience of Marlon Samuels, another all-rounder ready to do battle.
But with an array of individual talent in the India ranks, Holder must rely on team spirit and hope that the sum of his eleven men is greater than the individual parts. They’ve done it once, can they do it again?
History
Yes, I’d say Holder’s team has already restored some pride after a 2-0 Test Series defeat. Not to mention that the overall ODI head-to-heads still have the West Indies ahead, thanks to years of Caribbean dominance in the seventies and eighties.
The tourists remain ahead by 62 to India’s 58. Holder’s first aim was to keep his nation’s nose in front of this great team by avoiding a whitewash, and he’s already achieved that. His team has put up a good fight—when you look at the ICC Rankings—with India in second place and hot on the trail of England, while the West Indies are looking a long way up from ninth.
The last ODI meeting between India and the Windies was last summer. Kohli led his team to a 3-1 win in the Caribbean, and there is a strong likelihood we could see a repeat of that scoreline.
So let’s take a look at the India vs West Indies odds and try to find the best value.
What are the odds?
The Windies have performed better than many expected in this series, and they could still spring another surprise on Thursday at odds of 4.84 on Draw No Bet.
But with Kohli in imperious form and the other India batsmen contributing big runs, I can only see one winner. India are at a far-off 1.12 on the same betting market.
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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