Port of Spain: Team India resembles a punter, who, on arriving to cash his sure-money bet after a nap discovers the favourite has been pipped at the post! All because the said horse failed to thrust its nose at the moment of importance!

Down 1-2 in the five-match series, the visiting side, a victim of its intemperance, must win at the Queen's Park Oval here on Friday. It's as simple as that. Win, and a shot at a series victory on Sunday beckons. Lose, and go down as the third-ranked team that failed to close out a side ranked eight.

The Oval, the stage for this drama, holds memories hoary and close to India's heart. The stand of Learie Constantine, a cardinal man in the sociological and cricketing history of West Indies, looks down on the ground, the site of all of India's three Test wins in the Caribbean.

Could have been 3-0

What must gall skipper Rahul Dravid most is that despite being woefully under-par, India could actually have won the series 3-0. It squeaked through the first, heart-rendingly lost the second, which it had no business doing so, after being in a sticky position it had no business getting out of, and threw away the third to incompetence in its final 15 overs of batting.

India needs to draw on the virtues of collective batting responsibility that saw it run up the world record of chases and comprehensive series wins against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and England.

It needs Yuvraj Singh, who the team management is hopeful will recover from a back spasm, and Coaching Session 101 on running between wickets and shot selection.

"Running between the wickets is something we have talked about a lot, our judgement of runs and stuff like that," said Dravid. "The other thing we need to work on is batting at the end."

Both have cost India dear. Dhoni's canter when he should have accelerated turned the third match. His dismissal brought in Venugopala Rao, who try as he might couldn't get it off the square. Pressure welled, hare-brained run outs followed, and India made a near negligible 41 in its last 15 overs.

"It's good, very good for the boys to play these close games," said Dravid. "It gives them a chance to experience some pressure, it will do them a lot of good, these experiences. It's nice to win these of course."

Of course. What there has been no let up on, is intent. An early morning flight and a body-wringing match the previous day didn't preclude an intense fielding session on Wednesday. On the theme of positives, Ajit Agarkar has struck the best bowling form of his career and Sehwag may have just unlocked his mojo.

Talking big

For West Indies, it's time for big talk. Indian journalists have had their ears filled with 4-1 predictions from the natives. Lara didn't hedge his words either, playing a canny psychological game. "The last match we chased successfully. I think they might be confused because they chose to bat, which is against their norm."

The islanders have shown encouraging signs. Sarwan has played two innings of substance, Lara has captained with perspicacity, but nowhere are the signs more encouraging than the sinfully athletic fielding and the reduction in reliance on Lara.

In team news, left-handed batsmen Sewnarine Chattergoon and Wavell Hinds have replaced Shivnarine Chanderpaul (hamstring tear) and Runako Morton.

"This track is just seven months old, so it's still settling," said curator Shekar Mano. "That's why you see cracks. We increased the clay content from 52 per cent to 75 per cent during re-laying. So, I'd expect this to have plenty of bounce for the quicks, and some for the spinners."

Perhaps the match will be best remembered for being Lara's penultimate at home. "We'll look to pull it through on Friday," said the man famous for revelry, "so I enjoy it on Sunday."

The Indians will want to storm the party.

The teams (from):

India: Rahul Dravid (capt.), Virender Sehwag, Suresh Raina, Yuvraj Singh, Mohammad Kaif, Venugopala Rao, M.S. Dhoni (wk), Irfan Pathan, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Munaf Patel, R.P. Singh, S. Sreesanth, Robin Uthappa.

West Indies: Brian Lara (capt.), Chris Gayle, Wavell Hinds, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Marlon Samuels, Dwayne Smith, Dwayne Bravo, Carlton Baugh (wk), Fidel Edwards, Jerome Taylor, Corey Colleymore, Ian Bradshaw, Dave Mohammed.

Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Billy Doctrove. Third umpire: Steve Bucknor. Match referee: Chris Broad.

Hours of play (IST): 7 p.m. to 10.30 p.m., 11.15 p.m. till close.

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