Talking Points from the India vs West Indies ODI Series

India emerged 2-1 winners in the 3-match ODI series against The West Indies in what was a high-scoring bonanza for the batsmen. 10 Centuries were scored, 400 breached twice and 350 scored twice to show the batsmen made merry in this series, while the bowlers not only struggled to make inroads, but were rendered helpless due to the seemingly flat nature of the pitches in all the three games.

However, both sides will be reasonably happy with the performances that their teams have shown. India will fancy themselves with the strength in batting, while West indies will also believe that they are in fine fettle ahead of the qualifiers that they will play in order to qualify for the 2027 ICC World Cup.

With that being said, here are the talking points from the series.

India’s batting looks ominous

If there is one thing that India can take to the bank in terms of a positive takeaway, it is the fact that their batting looks dangerously ominous, arguably the best in the world. And that is not good news for the rest of the bowling attacks.

Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill, and Virat Kohli have scored runs for fun this series. Shubman Gill has shown why he is the number-one ranked ODI batsman in the World, scoring a hundred and double-hundred in consecutive matches. Rohit Sharma helped himself to a century and a 90 in the series, while Kohli kickstarted the series with a hundred of his own, further showing off his newfound aggression in his batting. Add to the fact that KL Rahul and Ruturaj Gaikwad have also helped themselves to scores of 129 and a half-century in the series, head coach Gautam Gambhir will be reasonably pleased with the wealth of batting options at his disposal and the form that each of them find themselves in. 

India’s bowling looks equally ordinary 

As good and majestic as India’s batting was in this series, equally poor was their bowling. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Arshdeep Singh, who were representing India at the Asian Games in Japan, the likes of Gurnoor Brar, Anshul Kambhoj, Nitish Kumar Reddy, and Prasidh Krishna came an absolute cropper against this West Indian batting order.

Notwithstanding the conditions, that were pretty much against the bowlers, none of the Indian pacers showed the temperament or the ability to bowl consistently in good lines and lengths. They were wayward, irresponsible, and just did not create enough chances.

Bar Kuldeep Yadav’s match-winning spell in the 1st ODI at Trivandrum, none of the bowlers managed to put the West Indies batsmen in any sort of pressure. Mohammed Siraj was conspicuously absent in the first 2 games, and even when he was brought into the side in the 3rd ODI, he was not able to influence the game like he normally does. As a result, Indian bowlers looked pedestrian and often out of ideas.

India’s current bowling corps does not exude a lot of confidence and if they continue to bowl like this, it could spell trouble for the Men in Blue. Jasprit Bumrah cannot come soon enough, and even then, one has the impression that it will not be enough.

Glass half-full for the Windies

While West Indies may have lost the series, head coach Daren Sammy will be very happy with the way that his side showed fight and gumption against a much-heralded and a star-studded Indian side on their home turf.

The likes of John Campbell and Amir Jangoo showed grit, character, and fight as they got among the runs. Jangoo, in particular, showed maturity beyond his experience that you would not have believed that he was making his debut in the format. In Justin Greaves, who was unfortunately ruled out of the series following injury, they have an all-rounder who can provide runs with the bat as well as quality with the ball. Add to that skipper Shai Hope, who blasted consecutive centuries himself, this Windies batting order has a lot of quality and firepower at their disposal.

The bowling, while understandably going for plenty due to the conditions on offer, showed enough discipline and temperament, with Jayden Seales and Alzarri Joseph inducing enough false strokes off the Indian batters. Vitel Lawes is an exciting new find, while Gudakesh Motie adds experience and a different variance to this bowling attack.

So despite the loss, one could say that the Men in Maroon are slowly finding their way back to ODI fluency, and that will only bode well for the cricketing fraternity.