India vs West Indies ODIs: 3 big positives for Men in Blue

India’s ODI record at home was about to be stalled for a brief moment by a very impressive West Indies side before Ravindra Jadeja and Shardul Thakur managed to steer them home in the final match at Cuttack to seal the series 2-1.

The Men in Blue were in a spot of bother when chase master Virat Kohli, for once, was dismissed without taking the game past the finish line and at that stage, West Indies must have felt the game well within their grasp.

Even though the Windies lost, this was a closely fought series as India had to fight their way back after losing the first match at Chepauk in Chennai. This was also one of the very rare series in which captain Kohli failed to score a hundred (although he came very close to scoring one today).

Let's look at the three big positives for his men from this successful ODI campaign:

#1. KL Rahul’s consistency

There always has been very little doubt about KL Rahul’s class but it was his consistency that was becoming a problem for the stylish right-hander. The Karnataka batsman made full use of the opportunity at the top of the order and his pairing with Rohit Sharma is ticking all the right boxes at the moment.

Rahul finished the series with 185 runs which included a hundred and a half-century, both of which came in a winning cause. He is a batsman who is pleasing on the eye and makes batting look so easy when in full flow.

It is now very difficult for the left-handed Shikhar Dhawan to make a comeback into this ODI side as Rahul has more or less sealed the spot with his consistency in the series. And with the kind of form he has been in lately, we don't see Indian fans having any problem with that!