What

Last of the three-match ODI series between India and West Indies

When

Wednesday, November 27, 2013, 09:00 IST (03:30 GMT)

Where

Green Park Stadium, Kanpur

The Teams

India

After India’s loss in Vizag, the series is well set up at 1-1 as the teams move to the northern part of India. A major reason for India’s defeat in the second ODI was the immense amount of dew in the second innings, which made it difficult for the bowlers and the fielders to get a grip on the wet ball. There will not be any such “unfair advantage” as MS Dhoni put it, in Kanpur, given it’s a day game.

The Green Park wicket is known for its turn, which will bode perfectly for the spin-reliant Indian bowling attack. The Indian team is most likely to retain their Playing XI from Vizag.

West Indies

The men from Caribbean would be relieved after tasting their first win of this tour. The two-wicket win in the second ODI would also have acted as a morale booster for the team marred by defeats. West Indies did well in pretty much all areas barring death bowling, but rather then blaming the bowlers for that, credit must be given to Dhoni’s brawn.

The biggest positive for the visitors was that the likes of Kieron Powell and Lendl Simmons stood up in the absence of out-of-sorts and injured Chris Gayle. The form of Darren Bravo – he has scored fifty in both matches – and Darren Sammy’s late-order blasts too bode well for them. Expect West Indies to retain their winning combination for the final match of their India sojourn.

Key Players

India

R Ashwin bowled beautifully in Vizag despite the dew. He maintained his control over the wet ball, something that is tough to do for a spinner. In Kanpur the conditions will be more favourable for the off-spinner. The Green Park wicket, bathed in bright sunshine, might also offer him some true bounce.

West Indies

Ravi Rampaul has been the best bowler for West Indies in this series. He followed up his economical spell in Kochi with four wickets in Vizag. The best part about his spell in the second ODI was the way he strategized the wickets of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. It showed what an experienced campaigner like him can bring to the table. Moreover, Rampaul’s record in and against India suggests he does like to take the subcontinent giants on.

Statistics

Matches at Kanpur

Result summary:

Average first innings score at Kanpur: 232

Trivia

From the current Indian squad only four players – MS Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma and Yuvraj Singh- have played an ODI at Kanpur.

Three Indian batsmen – Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan- have aggregated 1000 runs in ODIs in the calendar year 2013. Last time three batsmen of same side aggregated 1000 ODI runs in a calendar year was in 2009 for Australia. In 1998 and 2007 four Indian batsmen had aggregated more than 1000 runs.

Virat Kohli will be playing his 50th match on Indian soil.

Squads

India: MS Dhoni (capt, wk), Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, R Ashwin, Amit Mishra, Mohammed Shami, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Vinay Kumar, Mohit Sharma, Ambati Rayudu, Ravindra Jadeja, Jaydev Unadkat.

West Indies: Dwayne Bravo (capt), Kieron Powell, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Lendl Simmons, Sunil Narine, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Jason Holder, Veerasammy Permaul, Ravi Rampaul, Tino Best.