Saturday's loss in the third ODI at Pune against No. 9-ranked West Indies should not only come as a shock to World No. 2 India. It should also serve as an eye-opener. Till now, the bulk of the work was carried out by the top three Indian batsmen. Such has been the dominance of openers Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan and skipper Kohli, that the middle order has hardly been tested.

However, when things haven't gone as per plan for the top three batsmen, India have faltered. It happened in the second ODI at Lord's when India folded up for 236, chasing England's 322-7. It also occurred in the third ODI at Leeds when the top three failed to fire as India managed just 256-8. On Saturday, though the openers departed early, skipper Kohli struck his third consecutive century of the series. His effort was still not enough as the hosts lost by 43 runs.