Changes on the cards for India as they target T20I series clean sweep over West Indies

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  • India have already sealed the T20 series with a 2-0 lead.

    A 3-0 series whitewash is in the sights of India as the Men in Blue get ready to lock horns with West Indies in the third and final T20I in Guyana on Tuesday.

    Virat Kohli and his men have already captured the series after taking an unassailable 2-0 lead with two victories in the United States.

    Carlos Brathwaite and his men, on the other hand, are looking to avert a series clean sweep as they return to home comforts for the final clash.

    Lacklustre Windies look for consolation win

    The hosts will be desperate to come up with a win in the final T20 after what has been a disappointing last couple of months for the limited-overs outfit.

    While they will be keen to avoid a series whitewash at the hands of the tourists, Brathwaite and his men will also want to take a morale-boosting win ahead of the three-match ODI series as well as the two Tests.

    The hosts have been decent with the ball in hand with Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas leading the line, but they have been largely disappointing with the bat in hand.

    Evin Lewis has failed in both attempts while the hugely talented Nichols Pooran has been unable to make it count despite getting good starts in both games. The defending world T20 champions will hope that their mercurial batsmen can click for once on Tuesday and hand them a pick-me-up before the start of the ODI series.

    Windies will be desperate to open their account.

    Windies will be desperate to open their account.

    Changes on the cards for India

    With the series already in the bag, Kohli has hinted that changes could be in store for India when they take the field in the final T20.

    “Winning is always going to be a priority. But sealing the series gives the chance to bring a few guys in,” the India skipper had stated after the team’s 22-run win in the second T20.

    “The idea is always going to be to win first. But winning the first two games gives the cushion.”

    Shreyas Iyer, Rahul Chahar, KL Rahul and Deepak Chahar are among the players who are yet to game in the series and they could all come into play in Tuesday’s clash.

    Rahul could get a look in on Tuesday.

    Rahul could get a look in on Tuesday.

    Focus remains on India’s middle-order

    While India have won both matches on the tour so far, they are yet to look truly convincing with the bat with Rohit Sharma the sole batsman to register a half-century.

    Among the biggest disappointment has been the form of Rishabh Pant with the young wicketkeeper batsman mustering just four runs in two innings while throwing away his wicket in a rash fashion.

    It continues an extensively bad run in the limited-overs formats for Pant who is yet to translate his success in Test cricket to white-ball cricket. It will be interesting to see if the young left-hander is given another opportunity on Tuesday given the fact that India’s team management is trying to groom him as MS Dhoni’s long-term successor.

    One man who is definitely facing the axe for the final T20 is Manish Pandey with the middle-order batsman flattering to deceive in both innings so far on his international return for India.

    Pant has once again disappointed in the shorter formats for India.

    Pant has once again disappointed in the shorter formats for India.

    LIKELY XIs

    West Indies: Evin Lewis, John Campbell, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Kieron Pollard, Carlos Brathwaite (c), Sunil Narine, Keemo Paul, Khary Pierre, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas.

    India: Shikhar Dhawan, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (c), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (wk), Krunal Pandya, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Rahul Chahar, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Navdeep Saini.

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