West Indies vs India, third ODI: Prasidh replaces Avesh, Holder returns to bolster hosts

Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan won the toss and opted to bat first against in the third One-Day International against West Indies at the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain on Wednesday. India won by a two wickets in a thrilling encounter in the second ODI to gain an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match ODI series.

“The best thing is everyone is performing, nice to see that. That’s a big positive for us, happy with that. I feel that intent is important, but at the same time you need to be smart,” said Dhawan at the toss ahead of the third ODI.

Although the Nicolas Pooran-led side challenged Shikhar Dhawan and Co with an impressive chase in the first ODI and were blown away by a quick fire knock by Axar Patel in the second ODI, they were on the receiving end of consecutive heartbreaking losses. After Avesh Khan’s ODI debut in the previous game, Prasidh Krishna is back into the Playing XI for the final ODI.

“The first two games, we were heartbroken. We are motivated today, we need to get over the line. We spoke about batting 50 overs, but we need to be more consistent. We will get to see the result eventually,” said West Indies skipper Pooran.

While West Indies all-rounder Jason Holder returned to the side for the final ODI after missing out on the two ODIs due to Covid-19, India continued to miss the services all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, the vice captain for the series, as he remained unavailable for selection for the third ODI since he is still not a hundred percent fit. BCCI confirmed that the medical team will continue to monitor his progress.

Along with Holder, Keemo Paul and Keacy Carty are back into the side, replacing Alzarri Joseph, Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd.

India are playing the series without regular skipper Rohit Sharma and stars like Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Jasprit Bumrah, Hardik Pandya and KL Rahul (who has reportedly tested positive for Covid-19 after a period out due to injury and surgery).

Playing XIs for 3rd ODI

India: Shikhar Dhawan(c), Shubman Gill, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson(w), Deepak Hooda, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Prasidh Krishna

West Indies: Shai Hope(w), Brandon King, Keacy Carty, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran(c), Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh, Jayden Seales

India’s full squad for 3 ODIs: Shikhar Dhawan (Captain), Ruturaj Gaikwad, Shubman Gill, Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Shreyas Iyer, Ishan Kishan (wk), Sanju Samson (wk), Ravindra Jadeja (vice-captain), Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna, Mohd Siraj, Arshdeep Singh.