India vs Windies | Predicted XI for 3rd T20I in Chennai

Openers

Middle Order

Rishabh Pant - Pant needs to step up now. This series was supposed to be a career defining one for him as BCCI decided to drop MS Dhoni in order to push him up. However, the stroke player has been giving away his wicket cheaply, which by no way has been an upgrade over his predecessor. However, he is lucky that BCCI doesn’t have many options to go to right now.

Dinesh Karthik - Undoubtedly the most important player in the middle order today, the veteran has to assure that he stays on and gets the job done regardless of India batting first or chasing. Fortunately, he hasn’t shown the hastiness the other middle order players have shown so far, and even if the opening duo collapses India could rely on him.

Manish Pandey - It is unfortunate that Pandey hasn’t seen too many chances following his disastrous season with Sunrisers Hyderabad in terms of batting. But, the hard hitter has proven his worth before and Sunday will give him another chance to win the management’s trust. He has also been included in the Australia series and would hope to make this match as a springboard to get into the first eleven down under.

Krunal Pandya - Not the most vibrant on the field like his brother and neither is he known for his big hits, but Krunal’s impact has been far greater in a subtler way. He has easily been one of the better players in the series doing exactly what has been needed of him. During India’s chase in Kolkata he came in the lower order to score a quick 21 off 9 balls, and while defending a total in Lucknow, his economic bowling didn’t let Windies flex their muscles. He seems a horse for the long race.

Washington Sundar - With Kuldeep Yadav already declared to be out of the game, it will be exciting to see the bench options taking their chances. Sundar will have big shoes to fill especially after Jason Holder revealed that Yadav was the main reason Windies batsmen collapsed in the last match. However, being a Tamil Nadu player, Sundar would know the spin-friendly Chidambaram pitch well and India would hope to make the most of his experience.

Yuzvendra Chahal - Without his partner in crime on the other end, the onus would majorly be on Chahal to lead the spinning attack. The RCB man has struggled to pick wickets in the series so far, managing only two wickets in three matches and also becoming Windies’ prey in the process. He will be hoping to get in the selectors’ good books again.

Bhuvneshwar Kumar- Not having Bumrah shouldn’t be a problem for India as they will have Bhuvneshwar to spearhead the pacing trio. He has the ability to get wickets with both the new and old ball and although he is yet to be fully fit, the side would want to keep his going for the game in order to get a fully firing Bhuvi against the Aussies.