West Indies v India ODI Series.... Bouncing Back




Starts Friday 26th June, 14.30 GMT, Kingston
Sky Sports 3

After a surprisingly dismal Twenty20 World Cup display, the Indians get a chance to redeem themselves and get back to winning ways in this four game ODI series.

Match Schedule

Date and Time	Match
Fri Jun 26 09:30 local | 14:30 GMT	1st ODI - West Indies v India Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Sun Jun 28 09:30 local | 14:30 GMT	2nd ODI - West Indies v India Sabina Park, Kingston, Jamaica
Fri Jul 3 09:30 local | 13:30 GMT	3rd ODI - West Indies v India Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Sun Jul 5 09:30 local | 13:30 GMT	4th ODI - West Indies v India Beausejour Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia

The West Indies outperformed India in that Twenty20 World Cup by reaching the Semi Finals, however this series in the longer fifty over format will present a much stiffer task.

West Indies have struggled in this format in the last year with series losses against Australia, Pakistan, New Zealand and, most recently, home and away losses to England. They can be a match for any team if they play to their full potential, but the pattern recently has been a heavy reliance on Chris Gayle at the top of the innings. Dwayne Bravo has given them a much needed boost since his return from injury, but even he has not been able to turn around their fortunes in the fifty over game.

India in West Indies ODI Results

India in West Indies ODI Series	1982/83	Winner	West Indies	2-1
India in West Indies ODI Series	1988/89	Winner	West Indies	5-0
India in West Indies ODI Series	1996/97	Winner	West Indies	3-1
India in West Indies ODI Series	2001/02	Winner	India	2-1
India in West Indies ODI Series	2006	Winner	West Indies	4-1

In contrast, India have not lost an ODI series since October 2007 and have won an amazing fifteen out of their last eighteen completed games in this format. Those wins were against England, Sri Lanka and New Zealand. Though India will have been bitterly disappointed by their efforts in the twenty20 format, they know that those performances will have little bearing in this longer format and they will be confident of stretching their recent unbeaten series record.

Sabina Park Jamaica

The Indian Squad sees some changes for this series. One man's injury or fatigue is another man's opportunity. Tendulkar and Sehwag are missing through minor injuries.  Raina and Zaheer have been rested. This gives an opportunity to some lesser known players to make their mark. Murali Vijay is an exciting, elegant player who could get his chance to open with Gamhbir. Badrinath has been on the fringes of the Indian team recently and will probably get a chance in the middle order. Abishek Nayar made his name for Mumbai in the IPL and it will be interesting how this big hitter gets on. On the bowling front, Ashish Nehra makes a return after a few years out.

The West Indies Squad has one very big name missing. Fidel Edwards, arguably their best bowler recently is out for at least the first two games. Surprisingly, Lendil Symmons and Darren Sammy have been dropped and in come Dwayne Bravo’s brother Darren and Runako Moreton.

Another big factor in this series will be the pitches. If the ones on offer in the recent Test and ODI series against England are anything to go by, then we can expect slow, low sub continent type pitches. These will obviously delight India and make a series win for them even more likely.

Ok so what are the bets?

India have been in awesome form in the fifty over format in the last year. They beat England 5-0, Sri Lanka 2-1 and 4-1 away and an historic first ever series win in New Zealand. I believe they will prove to be too good for the Windies too and I expect them to win the series comfortably and the 2.0 available on them represents great value. I will not be surprised to see India win all four games and a back of them to do so in the correct score market is also worth a minimal stake.

By bets for this series therefore are:

In the Series Outright Market:

BACK India for 5 points @ 2.0 at Totesport.

In the Series Correct Score Market:

BACK India to win 4-0 for 1 point @ 5.0 Bet365, Sportingbet , Paddy Power, Skybet, Ladbrokes sportsbook

Join me in watching India bounce back in style.

Bigjoe