Windies skipper Jason Holder has urged the batting unit to step up in the ODI series against India. The hosts suffered a 3-0 whitewash at the hands of the Men in Blue in the T20I series. The 3 match ODI series between India and Windies will start later today and there is certainly no doubt about the fact that the Men in Blue will start as the outright favourites.

“We had quite a bit of time to sit back and think about how the World Cup went and our shortcomings. We”ve had a few discussions in the group already; obviously, our batting let us down in the World Cup,” he said ahead of the opening ODI slated to be played in Guyana.

“We always spoke about batting deep and having a set batsman there at the end. That”s obviously an area we want to improve on.

“There were too many instances where we have gotten starts as individuals but never carried them deep into the innings, so that”s one area we have pinpointed and once we”ve tackled that we have put ourselves in our very good position.”

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Windies will be bolstered by the return of Universe Boss Chris Gayle. It is expected to be his last ODI series and there is certainly no doubt about the fact that the southpaw will look to finish on a high. He still remains a force to reckon with and he proved his credentials when the left-hander smashed a couple of centuries and a couple of fifties. However, he wasn’t at his fluent best during the World Cup which resulted in Windies being eliminated in the group stage.

“His (Gayle”s) presence is always felt whenever he steps onto a cricket field or in the dressing room,” Holder said.

Holder further stated that the bowling department for Windies has done an impressive job during the World Cup and needs to be on the mark if they harbour hopes of winning the opening ODI against India. “For me it”s just a matter of remaining disciplined with the new ball, taking new-ball wickets and focus on their middle order and take the game from there,” he said.