India will be hoping to seal an unassailable lead 2-0 lead in the five-match series when they take on the West Indies in the third ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium in Pune on Saturday, October 27.
While not many expected a tight contest between the two teams, considering India's dominance at home over the last few seasons, the ongoing series has seen West Indies push the top-ranked side to its limits.
While Jason Holder's visiting side were blown away in the first ODI by the brilliance of centurions Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma despite posting more than 300 on the board, they fought back and almost snatched a win the second ODI in Visakhapatnam on Saturday.
Both the teams have put on fine batting displays so far but their bowling, including India's, leaves a lot to be desired.
Nonetheless, the hosts added reinforcements to their bowling attack, especially the pace battery when they announced the squad for the last three ODIs by including limited-over specialists Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Jasprit Bumrah in the squad.
The duo, which was rested for the West Indies series as well is expected to make the playing XI for Saturday's ODI. India might be tempted to play a third seamer, considering Pune's wicket offered pace and bounce during the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2018.
India's middle order looked shaky in Visakhapatnam and it will be interesting to see how the likes of MS Dhoni and Rishabh Pant perform if the West Indies bowlers make early inroads.
On the other hand, West Indies might be tempted to go in with an unchanged XI but dropping a spinner and adding more strength to their pace battery might serve them well in Pune.
Team news - Probable playing XIs
India: Virat Kohli (c), Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Ambati Rayudu, MS Dhoni (wk), Rishabh Pant, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Umesh Yadav.
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Chandrapaul Hemraj, Kieran Powell, Marlon Samuels, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Rovman Powell, Obed McCoy, Kemar Roach, Devendra Bishoo, Oshane Thomas.
Pitch and conditions
After Guwahati and Visakhapatnam, the two teams will be treated to a relatively less hot and humid weather on Saturday. The Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium offers a lot of pace but the batsman will also relish playing strokes at the venue.
