Cuttack: With just a few hours left for the deciding third ODI to be played between India and West Indies at the Barabati Stadium here today, the hosts will be eyeing to win the match and lodge a series win.
After the West Indies comfortably won the first match, India came back strong in Vizag with a 107-run win over the visitors. The home side will be hoping for a strong performance again from the top order and will also be buoyed by the good form shown by the middle-order batsmen, which has for a long time given selection headaches to the team management.
With the middle-order giving the much-needed push to the start given by the openers, India’s middle-order worry is all but gone. Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant playing responsible innings in the last match has all but silenced their critics.
With Deepak Chahar and Bhuvneshwar Kumar having been ruled out with injuries, India might be tempted to do what they have done very rarely, but with considerable success – playing both Kuldeep Yadav and Yuzvendra Chahal in the XI. The KulCha Jodi can be expected to work their magic in the Barabati pitch.
The silver city has been witnessing dew since last few days, so the team batting second must expect the cherry ball to have an extra swing and the outfield slower.
The Commissionerate Police have made tight arrangements for today’s match where a huge turnout is expected. While the match starts at 1.30 pm the entry to the grounds will start at 10 am. Fans have been asked to follow the traffic advisory and reach out to Police Help Desks set up in each stand.
For security, 80 platoons of Police force have been deployed with 300 senior officials and 4 ADCP. SOG commandos and Quick Action Force officials have also been deployed at the stadium to provide top-notch security for the players and proper crowd management.
