3 Times India came back from behind to win an ODI series at home in the recent past
For Team India, it has come down to this. They are now compelled to channelize all their energy and options to save the one-day series against the depleted West Indies at home. To further emphasize the agony, the West Indies are ranked the No. 9 ODI team in the world while India are the No. 2 team in the ICC rankings.
No one expected such an excellent fightback from the West Indies after their capitulation in the Test series. The fact that India have been forced to call back Bhuvi and Bumrah for the third one-day in itself was ample proof of the tough challenge the Windies have posted in this one-day series.
Turning back, had Umesh Yadav bowled a yorker off the last ball of the second ODI, this awkward situation would not have arisen. Again, in the third ODI, had one of the middle-order batsmen stayed put with Kohli, the story would have been different altogether.
Now the Indians will have to ensure that they don’t lose the fourth ODI at Mumbai. In fact, they have to win both the remaining ODIs to restore pride. The last time a visiting team won a one-day series in India was way back in October 2015 when South Africa managed to achieve that feat by a margin of 3-2.
To put the records straight, since the World Cup win at home in April 2011, India have played a total of 14 bilateral one-day series at home and lost only two series, one against South Africa and the other against Pakistan.
Such has been India’s dominance at home that teams like Australia, New Zealand, England, Sri Lanka and West Indies have all been humbled in the past. The last time India had lost 2 matches in a one-day series at home was in 2016 against New Zealand. Since then, no team has won more than one match in a one-day series.
Against this track record, India are now up against the West Indies in the fourth one-day at Mumbai where their unbeaten home record will be severely tested. It would be a moral victory for the West Indies if they manage to hang on to a two-all draw in the series.
But from the West Indies point of view, they should certainly expect a backlash from India on the back of their humiliating defeat in Pune if one were to go by past records. In the past, India have been ruthless in the match that succeeded immediately after a humiliating defeat.
Here is a list of some of those instances where India came back from a deficit to win a home one-day series in the recent past.