Toss India opt to bowl v West Indies
Under sunny skies, the India captain Virat Kohli chose to chase in Pune against West Indies, while announcing three changes to the side that tied in Visakhapatnam.
India brought back fast-bowling reinforcements in the form of Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah – who were rested for the first two ODIs – while Khaleel Ahmed returned to the side. Ravindra Jadeja – the allrounder – was rested, and so was Umesh Yadav. Mohammad Shami was left out of the recently-announced squad for the final three ODIs.
West Indies handed a debut to allrounder Fabian Allen, a middle-order batsman with the ability to bowl left-arm spin. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo, who averaged 120 in the first two ODIs, was left out.
The visitors need a win to ensure they’re still in with a hunt of a series triumph. For India, victory would mean that they can no longer lose the five-match series. Batting first, West Indies would aim to post their third-consecutive 300-plus total in ODIs. The average first-innings total in Pune is 295.
India XI: Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli (capt), Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Khaleel Ahmed, Jasprit Bumrah, Yuzvendra Chahal
West Indies XI: Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kieran Powell, Shai Hope (wk), Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Fabian Allen, Jason Holder (capt), Ashley Nurse, Obed McCoy, Kemar Roach