Indore: Darren Sammy couldn’t stop giggling when asked about his luck with the toss on Wednesday. “May be I could use a coin with two heads since I always call heads… Perhaps I could even practice with a few coins before actually going out,” the West Indies captain quipped.

Winning or losing the toss has hardly made a difference, though, as the visitors have improved with every outing in the one-day series. Sammy put it down well: “I don’t mind losing (the toss) as long as we win matches.”

While the victory in Ahmedabad underlined their potential to spring a surprise or two, it also exposed the weak links in the Indian ranks. The repeated failures of the top-order and the inability of the bowlers to contain the batsmen in the death overs have been largely responsible for their plight.

Virender Sehwag knows well that the top-order has to fire if they wish to prevent the West Indies from drawing level in the series. Depending largely on the middle and lower order to enact a miracle every time can be disastrous.

It is also hardly the ideal preparation before the series Down Under. A string of failures will not only dent the confidence but also affect his fluency. It will only make their task even more difficult in alien conditions.

The stand-in captain has had a disastrous one-day outing since his second-ball duck in the World Cup final against Sri Lanka. Injuries had ruled him out of the one-day series against England, both away and home, and his flamboyant ways have only proved to be unsuccessful since his return.

With scores of 20, 26 and 0, he has hardly inspired confidence in the Indian ranks. More importantly, apart from his poor shot selection, he has struggled against the pace of Kemar Roach and Ravi Rampaul. It remains to be seen if Mushtaq Ali’s hometown serves as an inspiration to him.

The short boundaries at the Holkar Stadium will offer ample opportunities for the likes of Sehwag to go over the top. If Sehwag is on song, he makes the job of the other batsmen a tad easier and things will automatically fall into place.

Equally baffling has been Gautam Gambhir’s form. He underwent a scan for a back problem during the last game but there was nothing to worry. His performance though — 4, 12 and 0 — has been below expectations.

The left-hander had an extended session at nets on Wednesday, and he spent a lot of time discussing the technical aspects with coach Duncan Fletcher. He has looked all at sea against the moving ball and his failure to pick the gaps has been striking.

Sehwag’s opening partner, Parthiv Patel, kept his place with a 39 at his home ground after making 12 and 2 in the previous games. It remains to be seen if he can maintain the momentum.

If the form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have been encouraging, Suresh Raina’s lean phase has raised a few eyebrows. Nowhere near his usual self, he has failed to reach double digits in the series (5, 0 and 2). There’s already talk of giving Manoj Tiwary a chance in the remaining matches.

The West Indies, though, haven’t had to deal with such issues. Be it Darren Bravo, Ravi ‘Hawk’ Rampaul, Lendl Simmons or Sammy, they have risen to the challenge as and when the situation demanded.

Bravo, however, has been ruled out because of the left hamstring strain suffered during the last match. But Sammy is unperturbed and sees it as an opportunity for someone else to “make a name for himself.”

“Yes, we got to finish the tour on a high... Most of the guys have been away from home for almost two months now. It is the ultimate goal for us and we have seen that when you keep applying pressure, we could be successful,” said Sammy.

The Indians cannot afford to be so phlegmatic. Apart from the top-order, the bowling, too, hasn’t been consistent. Irfan Pathan’s inclusion has come as a surprise, but there’s no guarantee, he will play on Thursday.

Varun Aaron, who missed the last game because of a toe injury, did bowl a few overs at nets. His fitness will be assessed before taking a final call on Irfan.

Irfan’s ‘return’ will be closely monitored, and so will be the top-order and India’s fortunes.

TEAMS

India (likely): Virender Sehwag, Parthiv Patel, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ranganath Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron/Irfan Pathan, Abhimanyu Mithun.

West Indies (likely): Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine.

Umpires: Tony Hill, S. Ravi. TV: Sudhir Asnani.

Match Referee: David Boon.

Match starts: 2.30 pm.