The possibility of a wet weekend in Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, makes India's win at Barbados all the more crucial; India might well end up winning the five-match series 1-0. If cricket does take place though, India will have a firm upper hand going into the fourth (or fifth) one-dayer, effectively the second (or second), as the case may be. Some series this. The biggest factor that turned the game India's way in Barbados was the inept batting by West Indies. In the Test series, the West Indian middle order often salvaged the game after the openers messed up; in the limited-overs game, that luxury is simply not there. Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds are both unreliable dashers, and West Indies can afford only one such player at the top. It may not be a bad idea to try in-form Shivnarine Chanderpaul at the top of the order, where he has done well before. He is wasted at No. 6 anyway.

India have also been experimenting with their batting order. The team management announced before the last game that if India chased, Sachin Tendulkar would slip down to No. 4; but not otherwise. That was baffling. It is a worthy experiment to try him down the order, but it should be a consistent policy, and not circumstantial. That will only unsettle the other batsmen.

On paper, India are strong favourites in this game, or the next one, whichever happens first, or at all. Half their bowling attack (Tinu Yohannan and Ajit Agarkar) is fresh, and they bat deep, with Mohammad Kaif, a fine finisher who averages 41 in one-day cricket, at No. 7 in the order. But both teams have a tendency to throw things away and let matches drift, and, to paraphrase an old cliche, this series ain't won until it's lost.

Amit Varma is assistant editor of Wisden.com in India.

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