3 mistakes Team India can't afford to make in the 3rd ODI vs West Indies
The series will be on the line when India and West Indies lock horns in the third and final ODI in Tarouba on Tuesday, August 1.
After India clinched the series opener by five wickets despite experimenting with their playing XI, it seemed as though they'd run away with the series. However, they turned the experimentation dial a few degrees more, and it didn't end well for them in the second game.
The Windies fought back with a six-wicket win in Barbados to force a decider, which will be an interesting encounter to watch. The Men in Maroon haven't beaten India in a bilateral ODI series in over 15 years, and the visitors will need to be wary of certain errors that could bring about their downfall on Tuesday.
Here are three mistakes Team India can't afford to make in the third ODI against West Indies.
#3 The Men in Blue need to back the bowlers they've picked so far in the series
![Umran Malik [left] has bowled three overs in each of the two games thus far](https://statico.sportskeeda.com/editor/2023/07/6a5e8-16906622650144-1920.jpg?w=500)
India's pace attack has been decent in the series so far without being overly threatening. That's largely because they haven't had too much work to do, with Mukesh Kumar bowling exclusively with the new ball and Umran Malik proving expensive.
The team management might be tempted to sacrifice either Mukesh or Umran (or both) and bring in the likes of Jaydev Unadkat. However, that wouldn't help their cause in the long run. While Mukesh hasn't bowled at various stages of the innings in a bid to showcase his prowess, Umran has bowled only six overs in the series thus far.
Not much needs to change in the spin department as well, even though India might be tempted to field Yuzvendra Chahal. Kuldeep Yadav has been in excellent form and should be given the freedom to build on his obvious rhythm.
#2 India need to commit to the strategy of experimentation
India's unconventional strategies have been the talk of the town so far. They sprung a massive surprise in the second ODI, resting Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma to bring Axar Patel and Sanju Samson into the team.
The move backfired. The Windies clinched the contest by virtue of a decent performance, leaving India with a series decider to confront. The Men in Blue might be encouraged to bring back their star men and secure the trophy, but they can't afford to be so short-sighted.
Now that they've committed to experimenting and finding solutions ahead of the Asia Cup and the World Cup, India will get nothing tangible from bringing Rohit and Kohli back. Samson and Axar couldn't deliver in the previous game and need to be given more time in the middle to come good.
#1 India's shot selection, which has been nothing short of abysmal, needs to improve
To point out the blatantly obvious, India's batting (and shot selection in particular) has been nothing short of abysmal so far in the series. Ishan Kishan has been the only batter from the side to cross the 50-run mark, having done so in both games thus far. The others, however, have been all at sea.
Shubman Gill has been scratchy out in the middle, while Suryakumar Yadav and Hardik Pandya have been dismissed fairly cheaply in both matches. Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Shardul Thakur and Sanju Samson are the other batters who haven't played any notable knocks thus far.
India need to challenge themselves in the lead-up to the World Cup, and playing quality bowling in difficult conditions is a must right now. Their shot selection against both pace and spin has been distinctly sub-par, and they can't afford to play a careless brand of cricket in the crunch game.
India simply must curtail their blind attacking instincts and play to the conditions on offer.