Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, India, West Indies, 3rd ODI
Shikhar Dhawan and Virat Kohli will be keen to continue their good batting formJewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Win the third one-day international on Friday, and India will ensure they cannot lose the ODI series to the West Indies. That is the motivation for the Men in Blue going into the match in Antigua.

After the first ODI had to be abandoned due to rain, India made the West Indies captain Jason Holder pay for asking the visiting side to bat in the second match by putting on 310 in just 43 overs.

In that reduced game, West Indies could not even get a sniff of a victory in the chase, putting India in a position to take complete control of the series.

Even at the start of this tour, India were seen as the clear favourites. West Indies do not have any of their star players in the ODI squad, and even if that was the case, they would have still found it difficult to beat this strong Indian side.

India have an opening combination in top form. After Rohit Sharma was rested for this tour, the slight worry was that the mojo at the top of the order might go, what with Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit coming together in strong partnerships throughout the Champions Trophy.

However, Ajinkya Rahane has stepped into Rohit's shoes splendidly, scoring a half-century in the first game, before striking a match-winning hundred in the second.

Rahane's form bodes well for India, because it gives Virat Kohli another option at the top of the order.

The slight worry for India, in their batting, will be the form of Yuvraj Singh, who hasn't quite been able to get that bat of his talking so far. However, you feel, given the right situation, the left-hander will come good, sooner rather than later.

Having a big score to defend does help the bowlers, and it certainly did in the second ODI. However, the way they shut West Indies out of the game in the chase was impressive.

Roston Chase, West Indies, India, 3rd ODI, LOI series
West Indies will need to be perfect in all departments to beat India in the third one-day internationalJewel Samad/AFP/Getty Images

Bhuvneshwar Kumar was at his parsimonious and wicket-taking best – he has quickly become India's most important limited-overs bowler – while the spinners, Kuldeep Yadav in particular, then took control, tying the West Indies batsmen down.

The plan for India will be similar, although, after batting first in the opening two matches, Kohli could be keen to chase down a total.

West Indies have made a couple of changes to their squad for the final three ODIs in a bid to reboot the side, and maybe, the fact that they cannot lose this game, if they are to keep the series alive, is the fear they need to bring the best out of them.

There is plenty of talent in the team, it is about finding it collectively over the 100 overs.

When and where to watch live

Ind vs WI 3rd ODI is scheduled for a 9am local time, 6.30pm IST start. TV and live streaming information is below.

India: TV: Ten 3, Ten 1 HD, Sony Six, Sony Six HD. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.

 

USA: TV: Willow TV. Live Streaming: Willow TV online.

 

UK: TV: Sky Sports 3. Live Streaming: Sky Sports Watch.

 

South Africa: TV: SuperSport Two. Live Streaming: SuperSport Live Video.