Almost all the boxes were ticked in the milestone 1000th ODI the other day. Leading 1-0, India look well placed to wrap up the series against a struggling West Indies in the second ODI itself at the Motera stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

India have very few reasons to worry about going into the game and more so, as they are playing against an opposition who have this tendency to self-destruct on a regular basis. In other words, the West Indies’ shaky game in the 50-over format should make matters easier for Rohit Sharma and group.

Having said that, the Indian team management may need to put their thinking caps on when it comes to reshaping their batting order, as KL Rahul is set to return to the side.

Vice-captain Rahul’s return means a forced change in the XI. But who’s the one to be benched? That’s one tough call that skipper Rohit and head coach Rahul Dravid will have to take going into the penultimate ODI.

The easiest way would be a straight swap between Deepak Hooda, who made his international debut last Sunday, and Rahul. But to be fair to Hooda, he did a pretty decent job with the bat on debut, hitting an unbeaten 26 in his unbroken 62-run stand for the fifth wicket with Suryakumar Yadav.

Ishan Kishan, who opened in the first ODI since India were left with no other options then, didn’t look too fluent initially before a soft dismissal led to his departure when he was well set. So should India change the opening combination and draft Rahul back at the top alongside Rohit?

Overall, Rahul’s numbers as an opener in the 50-over format aren’t bad at all, but recently in the ODI series versus South Africa, he wasn’t looking too comfortable in that position. Besides, as a middle-order batsman, he averages in excess of 50 in ODI cricket.

If India really want to change their opening combination, they have the option of bringing in Mayank Agarwal, who’s now available after completing his quarantine.

Similar approach

The batting order puzzle aside, India would be looking to try and maintain an approach similar to that of the previous game in conditions favourable to them. That, even if they bat first.

Bowling the Windies out for 176 after putting them in, India took only 28 overs to reach home in the first match.

“We have kept things really simple. We are going to bat the same way, just as we did in the first game. It’s just that when we bat first, we need to bat till the end and put up a defendable total. But the way we batted in the second innings in the first game, it was perfect,” Suryakumar said on Tuesday.

“The tempo was nice, the intensity and intent too was really good, so there’s nothing to change. We just need to be safe and express ourselves.”

As for India’s bowling attack, it remains to be seen if they tinker with it by resting any of the quicks or spinners and give an opportunity to Deepak Chahar or Kuldeep Yadav.

There was further good news for India as Shikhar Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer resumed training on Tuesday, having recovered from Covid-19.

Match starts: 1.30pm, live on Star Sports Network