Daijiworld Media Network
Ahmedabad, Dec 5: After two successive victories, a spirited Indian side will face West Indies in the third ODI at Sardar Patel Stadium in Motera, Ahmedabad on Monday, December 5. The day/night match will be a 'do or die' for West Indies, as it has to win to keep the series alive.
India has had a few memorable moments at the Motera ground, especially the World Cup quarter-final match on March 24 this year where it had beaten Australia.
As far as India is concerned, this match will be crucial for opener Gautham Gambhir and Suresh Raina - both World Cup heroes failed to impress the crowd in the first two ODIs. They need to concentrate on the game to get some score to prove their worth as several youngsters are waiting in the docks.
Sardar Patel Stadium has a 54,000 capacity. India has faced 13 ODIs in this ground, winning 6 and losing the rest. West Indies has played 6 ODIs in this ground and have won 3 of them.
India Vs West Indies record in this ground is 50-50, both teams winning two matches each out of four played so far.
The final eleven:
West Indies (Playing XI): Lendl Simmons, Danza Hyatt, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy(c), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Sunil Narine
India (Playing XI): Virender Sehwag(c), Parthiv Patel(w), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Vinay Kumar, Abhimanyu Mithun, Umesh Yadav
West Indies captain Sammy said, "Once again we have to put a good total on board. The batsmen will have to do well this time. We have to seize the moment and the series is still alive. We have to do well in all the aspects to test India. I reckon about 260 should be a good total. "
Indian captain Sehwag said, "We'll bowl first. The dew is an important factor. It will affect the spinners if it comes on. It stays good because of the dew conditions. We are looking forward to this game and close the series here itself. Varun Aaron is out and Mithun is in. We gave him a break."
Sunny Gavaskar compared the pitch to the beautiful national highways in Ahmedabad. The new ball bowlers may get some assistance in the early overs, but that's it, apart from that, it is a batting beauty. A score of 600 in both innings together is very much possible today, reckons SMG.
West Indies have run India close in both the games in the series, but haven't been able to land the telling blow that could've given them the game. Today is another chance for them to reverse the trend.
If India win, they win the series, so it is a must win game for the visitors.