India vs West Indies 2017: 5 ways Windies can draw level in the series
What looked like yet another one-sided bilateral series took an interesting turn when a determined West Indian side led by a captain increasingly looking comfortable in a job he was handed over during times of turmoil, defended 190 on a slow and low Antigua wicket.
The love story between West Indies cricket and Antigua began from the times of Brian Lara but neither he nor the few followers of ODI cricket in the Caribbean would have expected this surprising turn of events against an Indian side affected by the sour exit of their coach following a captain-coach tussle.
With one game washed out and two in India's pocket, West Indies have no opportunity to build on their performance in Antigua and win the series. However, they can still draw level, an incentive that a side which missed the Champions Trophy would welcome with both hands.
But one good game does not hide the million flaws within and the fact remains that West Indies are still on the wall between minnows and the others. A slight push from either side will see them take a huge plunge but the question is if they can trigger that push in the right direction.
Here we analyse five ways the Windies can draw inspiration from their performance in the last game and draw level in the series.
#5 Building effective partnerships
If there is one real area of concern for a depleted West Indies outfit, it is their sorely inadequate batting. The inclusion of a steady head in Roston Chase was expected to lend the batting line-up some stability but the all-rounder who has turned heads with his Test performances hasn't quite been able to replicate his success in the shorter format.
A glance at the best partnerships built in the series is a good indicator of where West Indies stand in terms of their batting. While Shai Hope and Evin Lewis put on an 89 run stand for the third wicket in the second ODI, there have only been two other partnerships above 50.
India, on the other hand, managed as many as five fifty-plus stands and two century stands in the series. If the Windies can concentrate on batting in pairs, India will have their task cut out.