MULLANPUR: India's under-fire bowling attack would be eyeing an improved outing with the pressure especially mounting on veteran Ravindra Jadeja when the home team takes on the West Indies in the third and final ODI here on Saturday.
India have dominated the series but rather than their performance, the talk has centered around the batting friendly nature of the pitches with the surface in the previous ODI producing more than 800 runs.
Among the critics of the conditions have been India head coach Gautam Gambhir, who wants to see an even contest between bat and ball.
With the series already in their pocket, India will look for their new-ball bowlers to finally make an early dent.
While the batters led by skipper Shubman Gill have enjoyed a dream run, the bowling attack has been left searching for answers, picking up just one wicket in the first 10 overs across the two games and leaking 177 runs in the two powerplays.
India have struggled to get wickets in the middle overs with Kuldeep Yadav not getting much support from the other bowlers. An experienced campaigner like Jadeja is under scrutiny having picked up just three wickets in his last eight games.
At the other end of the spectrum, skipper Shubman Gill has been setting the tone with the bat. The right-hander is averaging 79.3 in home ODIs since 2024 and already has a century and a double century to his name in this series.
Gill's unbeaten 223 in India's record chase of 406 added another landmark to his growing list of ODI achievements, and the skipper will look to cap off the series on another high by completing a hat-trick of triple-digit scores.
The batting has otherwise been in fine fettle, with Rohit Sharma providing the early impetus and Virat Kohli also getting a useful outing in the series.
But only four Indian batters have got the opportunity to bat so far, leaving KL Rahul, debutant Naman Dhir and returning Jadeja waiting for time in the middle.
The bigger headache, however, lies with the bowling attack. With Prasidh Krishna ruled out of the final ODI due to left hamstring injury, Anshul Kamboj has been added to the squad as his replacement.
Siraj could return to lead the pace attack after interestingly warming the bench in the last two games.
The Hyderabad pacer, however, has not been in his best rhythm since the Sri Lanka tour and also had a modest outing in the Duleep Trophy final, where he managed just one wicket after bowling 41 overs against East Zone.
Siraj, though, will be eager to put that behind him and make his mark in the limited-overs format. With the race for places in India's ODI pace attack becoming increasingly competitive, the likes of Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh and Auqib Nabi are also in the mix, while Jasprit Bumrah's place remains firmly established.
The younger pacers will therefore see the final ODI as another chance to push their case ahead of the five-match New Zealand series later this year. It was tough on Nabi to make his international debut in conditions heavily favouring the batters.
The first two games offered little encouragement for the quicks. The Indian pace attack, which has less than 40 ODI matches of combined experience, has struggled to contain the West Indies top order.
With the Mullanpur venue set to host its first men's ODI, the bowlers will hope the surface offers more assistance than the tracks served up in Thiruvananthapuram and Guwahati.
Another option for India is to give Nitish Kumar Reddy a longer bowling spell. The all-rounder struggled for rhythm and accuracy in the first ODI before being left out of the second game.
With no clear indication yet on Hardik Pandya's return from injury, India would want Reddy to get more opportunities to develop as a potential back-up all-round option.
For the West Indies, the series may already be lost but their batting has provided plenty of encouragement.
John Campbell has given them explosive starts in both games, while skipper Shai Hope has played the anchor's role before accelerating at the right time. The visitors, however, will want more from their middle and lower middle order, with Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase and Keemo Paul capable of providing the finishing flourish.
India:
Shubman Gill (c), Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul (vc), Dhruv Jurel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Anshul Kamboj, Gurnoor Brar, Mohammed Siraj, Auqib Nabi, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Naman Dhir.
West Indies:
Shai Hope (c), Jewel Andrew, John Campbell, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Amir Jangoo, Alzarri Joseph, Shamar Joseph, Vitel Lawes, Gudakesh Motie, Keemo Paul, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales.
Match starts 2 PM IST.