#INDvsWI Starts at 01:30 PM IST (08:00 GMT), Nov 24 . Dominant India look to seal series Visakhapatnam, November 23 If Charles Dickens were to write a review of the contest between India and West Indies, he would probably give it the title, A Tale of two countries! Come Sunday, the 24th of November and West Indies would have been on tour for 24 days. 24 days without a win and more importantly 24 days of projecting themselves as nothing more than a high-profile club team! Massive innings defeats in Kolkata and Mumbai in the Test series followed by a six-wicket hammering in the ODI opener in Kochi has raised a plethora of questions and left an umpteen number of doubts on the credibility and motivation of the incumbent West Indian bunch. Visakhapatnam would provide the visitors one last opportunity to redeem themselves and reclaim some of their lost pride. On the other hand, India are basking in the glory of their young and talented batting line-up which is scaling and setting new heights and creating unparalleled waves with every step they take. Sitting pretty at the top of the ICC ODI rankings, India would look to continue their domination and seal the three-match series in the south-eastern port city of Andhra Pradesh. India Indias young batting brigade has set the cricketing world on fire with consistently brilliant performances, especially in one-day international cricket. Openers, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan have put together 1240 runs in 21 innings at a stunning average of 62 including six century partnerships. Virat Kohlis meteorical rise has been synonymous with Indias domination in the format. The man of the match in the first ODI aggregates 1119 runs in 2013 at 55.95 per dismissal coupled with a strike rate of 97.98. Yuvraj Singhs indifferent form would be the only concern for India in the batting department. He had a decent look in in the first ODI and India would hope that the flamboyant southpaw regains his lost touch. Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni and Ravindra Jadeja provide a strong middle and lower order. The spinners led by Jadeja and Raina and well supported by R Ashwin had tormented the West Indian batsmen on a two-paced wicket at Kochi. With Visakhapatnam expected to be an absolute belter, it would be interesting to see if the trio taste the same success. Mohammad Shami has been impressive since his debut 9-wicket haul in Kolkata. Mohit Sharma might come in for Jaydev Unadkat after the latters lacklustre performance in Kochi. West Indies It has been a sorry tale for the team from the Caribbean since the day they stepped ashore on Indian territory. The batting has been the huge disappointment with none of their batsmen showing the will and application to spend some time at the crease. With news coming in that Chris Gayle will sit out of the remaining two matches with a hamstring injury, the gloom just gets greyer for the visitors. The frustrating thing for West Indies has been the fact that most of their batsmen got a start in Kochi but failed to convert that into any score of substantial value. Johnson Charles looked in good touch during his knock of 42 while Darren Bravo registered a fighting fifty. The tourists need the likes of Marlon Samuels and Lendl Simmons to assume more responsibility in the middle order. Skipper, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy are dangerous batsmen coming down the order well capable of clearing any field but need a bit some stability from the top-order to showcase their prowess. Jason Holder and Ravi Rampaul extracted some pace and bounce from the Kochi wicket. They bowled with heart and zest and that should augur well for the West Indies team. Sunil Narine needs to live up to his reputation of being one of the finest and most miserly bowlers in limited overs cricket. Sammy and Bravo could prove to be useful in the middle overs. The latter has a lot of variety with his change of pace and has the knack of breaking partnerships and picking up crucial wickets. Pitch and Weather Conditions The 22 yards at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy stadium would make the batsmens tongue leap out. A run feast can be expected on the flat deck in Visakhapatnam. Cyclone Helen is creating havoc on the south-eastern Indian coast and there are chances of rain interruptions for the encounter. Stats Trivia - Shikhar Dhawan is just four short of completing 1000 ODI runs in 2013. He will be the sixth batsmen overall and the third Indian after Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli should he achieve this feat. - Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma aggregate 1576 ODI partnership runs in 29 innings at a remarkable average of 58.37. - Rohit Sharma with 1143 runs from 23 ODI innings is the leading run-scorer in the format in 2013. - Ravindra Jadeja with 49 wickets is the leading wicket-taker in ODI cricket in 2013. - Darren Bravo with 673 runs from 21 innings is the leading run-scorer for West Indies in 2013. Quotes: He is our best batsman in this format. He is one of the senior players in the team and one of the players that know Indian conditions quite well. But I will always try to look at the positive and it gives an opportunity for somebody else to make a name for himself - West Indies coach,Ottis Gibsonon Chris Gayles absence. Teams West Indies:Johnson Charles(w), Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Marlon Samuels, Narsingh Deonarine, Dwayne Bravo(c), Darren Sammy, Sunil Narine, Jason Holder, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Veerasammy Permaul India:Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Yuvraj Singh, Suresh Raina, MS Dhoni(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammed Shami, Amit Mishra, Ambati Rayudu, Mohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar
Posted on: Sun, 24 Nov 2013 06:37:53 +0000
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