India vs West Indies 2018: India Probably Are The Best One-Day Side In The World: Jason Holder

Ahead of the first ODI against India, West Indies skipper Jason Holder said that the Men in Blue are the ‘best one-day side in the world’. 

Still trying to recover from the heavy thrashing in the two-Test series, West Indies will have their task cut out when they take on India in the five-match ODI series. While India have been one of the best ODI teams in the world for quite some time now, West Indies’ fortunes have been dwindling with every passing day.

They last won an ODI series way back in 2014. In their last ODI assignment, they lost 1-2 against Bangladesh. What has further made things tougher for them is the absence of some big names. The likes of Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo and Sunil Narine are not a part of the squad.

To compound matters further, Evin Lewis’s withdrawal from the ODI squad for personal reasons just days ahead of the start of the series dealt another blow to them.

And Jason Holder is well aware of the herculean task awaiting his team comprising of several new faces.

“It won’t be easy with India playing some very good cricket at the moment. They probably are the best one-day side in the world. We expect a tough challenge from them,” Holder said ahead of the first game.

“It’s a young side, a lot of unfamiliar faces. But it is an opportunity for them to showcase what they got,” he added.

There are 4 uncapped players in the WINDIES 15-man ODI squad to face India in the 5-match series starting on Sunday October 21.
Fabian Allen, Obed McCoy, Chanderpaul Hemraj and Oshane Thomas. #WindiesCricket #ItsOurGame pic.twitter.com/AOvkGx4tm0

— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) October 19, 2018

Holder said the challenge in the batting friendly Indian conditions would be to get scores of 300-plus consistently.

“We have not really been able to get consistent scores in excess of 300 which is pretty much a par score and a benchmark in ODI cricket of late. We have spoken this in our dressing room. We need to be hitting the 300-mark more often than not and be consistently doing it,” he said.

“No doubt, conditions in India will obviously dictate a run feast. A lot of times you got to be able to set your benchmark, maybe 320. That’s something our batters really need to look at. Consistency is one thing we need to look at, particularly in our batting,” he added.

The winner of the first two World Cups, West Indies’ spectacular decline in ODIs is there for everyone to see. Earlier this year, they somehow made it to the World Cup after finishing second in the Qualifiers. They are currently ninth in the ICC rankings. Winning against India is looking like an improbable task at the moment but Holder will be hoping his team comes up with good fight.

The skipper concluded by saying that he is happy with the current side before speaking on the importance of backing the players.

“I am happy with the guys who are here and they are more than capable to do well and be successful. I love challenges. We need to harness the talent. This is the future of West Indies cricket,” he said.