The West Indies, finally, stood up to be counted. The comprehensive victory in the fourth ODI in Antigua might have come too late in the day vis-a-vis the series but the Caribbeans could be getting their act together ahead of the Test series.
In this context, the final ODI at the famous Sabina Park on Thursday, also the venue for the first Test, is not without significance.
The West Indies needs to be playing to its strength at home. The sluggish tracks at Port of Spain's Queen's Park Oval only suited India's game-plan.
With two leg-spinners among the frontline bowlers and having only medium-pacers to contend with, the young Indian team was not stretched.
The greater fire and thrust of Kemar Roach and Andre Russell have made a difference to the West Indian attack. There was bounce and carry for them as well in Antigua.
The two emerging athletic pacemen also pounded the Indian batsmen with short-pitched deliveries. It was a different ball game in the fourth ODI at Vivian Richards Stadium.
The surface at Sabina Park is expected to be lively. The pitches here are still among the quicker ones in the Caribbean.
Truth to tell, some of the budding Indian batsmen are not comfortable when the deliveries thunder into the rib-cage. It does affect their mind-set.
It was the stress created by Roach and Russell — skipper Darren Sammy's tight seam bowling also helped — that forced the Indian batsmen to go after leg-spinner Anthony Martin who is no more than steady.
Reckless strokes
The reckless strokes from the frontline batsmen proved disastrous as India hurtled towards a crushing defeat.
Russell, a clean and natural striker of the ball, could just be the multi-dimensional cricketer that the West Indies seeks. He does seem to possess the West Indian flair of old.
The well-organised Lendl Simmons has made an impression at the top of the order. And Kieron Pollard's weighty innings in the fourth ODI augurs well for the West Indies. The big-hitter applied himself and was judicious in his stroke selection.
On such surfaces, India needs to be strategically smart. It was puzzling why Manoj Tiwary was sent in as opener on Monday. He seemed out of his depth, struggled to put bat to ball. Even if Tiwary had to be given an opportunity, it should not have been at the top of the order. Too many careers have been derailed as a consequence of a middle-order batsman being thrust into an opener's role.
With no reserve openers in the squad, the think-tank would be well advised to pick Shikhar Dhawan to partner Parthiv Patel. Dhawan has his limitations, but at least he is a specialist opener.
India seeks runs from Subramanium Badrinath and Yusuf Pathan. The shot selection of Pathan, in particular, has been ordinary. Although he has the ability, Pathan has just not paced his innings well in this series. He has gone for glory too soon and perished.
Resting Munaf Patel hurt the side. His corridor bowling and precise seam movement were missed. Ishant Sharma leaked runs but you got to give him time to settle down. Will India field a third paceman at Sabina Park?
Despite the series being already decided, the game at Sabina Park has possibilities.
Strokeful opening batsman Adrian Barath, recovering from fitness concerns, and paceman Ravi Rampaul have replaced Kirk Edwards and Danza Hyatt in the West Indian squad for the final Test.
The teams (from):
India : S. Raina (capt.), S. Dhawan, P. Patel, V. Kohli, S. Badrinath, R. Sharma, M. Tiwary, R. Ashwin, A. Mishra, M. Patel, P. Kumar, Harbhajan, I. Sharma, Y. Pathan, M. Tiwary, V. Kumar and W. Saha.
West Indies : D. Sammy (capt.), L. Simmons, R. Rampaul, Darren Bravo, R. Sarwan, M. Samuels, K. Pollard, A. Russell, C. Baugh, A. Martin, K. Roach, D. Bishoo and A. Barath.
Play starts at 7-30 p.m. (IST).
