With scores tied 1-1, the team that wins will avoid a series defeat, and Ramdin said that confidence was not a problem in the West Indies camp after they crushed India by eight wickets in Kingston. “This is a very big weekend for us. We squared the series and it’s very important that we win on Friday. I’m confident and the team is confident,” he said after a practice session at the Beausejour Stadium.

“It is a case of two good teams playing against each other and we expect two very competitive matches. We have been batting well and the bowlers did extremely well in the second match. Everyone is doing their part and we believe in ourselves and in each other,” the 24-year-old vice-captain added.

Reflecting on his performance in the second ODI, Ramdin said: “This was the first time I had five catches in an ODI. I’ve been working hard and the hard work has been rewarded. It is always good to go out there and get some momentum and I was happy to do the job for the team. The white ball was doing quite a bit and after we picked up early wickets we knew we have a very good chance of winning the match and getting back into the series.”

Weary after months of non-stop cricket, India were again a pale shadow of themselves in the second one-dayer, in which only skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni shone for the visiting team. After their failure in the World T20 championship in England last month, the Indians are naturally keen to end this never-ending season on a high after making a glorious start with victories against Australia, England and in the away series in New Zealand.

In the absence of Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, the top-order batting has looked weak despite some flashes of individual brilliance, and the form of Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma continues to be a matter of concern for Dhoni going into the third match, especially with the hosts again expected to exploit their apparent weakness against short-pitch bowling on lively tracks.

“We should have paid a little more respect to the bowlers (in the last match),” Dhoni said. “The wicket was a bit difficult, it was swinging around a bit. We didn’t judge the wicket well and just went around playing our strokes which really brought our downfall. Once you lose too many wickets then the only thing that you are doing is catching up.”

West Indies skipper Chris Gayle said his team were looking to go from strength to strength after the Kingston win. “It was nice to square the series. There were some good performances from the guys. (Ravi) Rampaul and (Jerome) Taylor set the game for us,” he said. “There was moisture in the wicket and Taylor and Ravi utilised it well, and the catching was also good, so we just need to keep working on our game.”