India's spinner Ramesh Powar dives to stop a shot from Ramnaresh Sarwan, as the ball bobbles in the air, while wicketkeeper Mahendra Dhoni (right) looks on during the second One-Day International at Sabina Park on Saturday. The Windies won by a run off the penultimate ball to level the series 1-1. - JUNIOR DOWIE/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER
BASSETERRE (CMC):
WEST INDIES and India will usher in the historic first interna-tional match at the renovated Warner Park in the vital third Digicel One-Day International today.
To mark the occasion, the Government of St Kitts/Nevis has declared a public holiday for the match which is expected to attract a near capacity crowd of about 8,000.
FIRST-CLASS GROUNDS
The ground, located in the heart of the capital city, was a hive of activity yesterday in the build-up to the match. Both teams practised at Warner Park and West Indies coach Bennett King praised the quality of the facility.
"The ground itself looks first-class. They've obviously worked very hard," King said. "The (practice) wickets out there aren't playing as well as we would like. They're a little bit slow and damp. That's a minor issue, but everyone has been very accommodating and more than helpful." The pitch in the middle was much better and looked an ideal batting surface.
"It looks flat. It looks like there is going to be a lot of runs in it," King said.
"The boundaries are short and I expect there are going to be a lot of runs. It looks like it's going to be very conducive to the batters from what I can see."
With the series locked at 1-1 after thrilling matches at Sabina Park last Thursday and Saturday, this match will give one of the teams a significant advantage ahead of the remaining two games in Trinidad on Friday and Sunday.
West Indies are expected to maintain the same team that played in the opening two matches
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
While King is heartened by Saturday's one-run victory, he said there was still room for improvement.
"We've still got a lot of work to do. One match against India doesn't make a champion," he said.
"There is a stack of work to do. You've got to be able to back up wins like that with good performances again. Consistency will tell us if we are moving forward."
The teams are;
WEST INDIES - Brian Lara (captain), Chris Gayle, Runako Morton, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chander-paul, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Carlton Baugh, Ian Bradshaw, Corey Collymore, Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Dave Mohammed.
INDIA - Rahul Dravid (captain), Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel, Harbhajan Singh, Robin Uthappa, Venugopal Rao Shantha Sreesanth, Ramesh Powar.
