Resting Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli proved disastrous for India in the second ODI against the West Indies. The World Cup probables struggled with the bowling and managed a disappointing total of 180 runs due to rain interruptions.
After an opening partnership of 90 runs between Ishan Kishan (55 off 55 balls) and Shubman Gill (34 off 49 balls), India’s innings collapsed as they lost five wickets for just 23 runs in 7.2 overs, courtesy of a decision to bowl by West Indies skipper Shai Hope. The loss of momentum was a major blow for India, and the rationale behind resting Rohit and Kohli with only 10 months left before the World Cup raised more questions than answers.
Ishan Kishan impressed as the potential second wicket-keeper, but Samson (9 off 19 balls) and Patel (1 off 8 balls) struggled against the West Indies’ short-ball tactic and the spinners’ challenging deliveries.
Sanju Samson gets dismissed cheaply in the second ODI against WI
Sanju Samson had a short stay in the middle.
.
.#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/uHLCh08YM3— FanCode (@FanCode) July 29, 2023
Sanju Samson‘s difficulties against leg spinners have been a recurring issue in his career, and his lack of comfort against Cariah’s leg breaks resulted in his dismissal when he failed to deal with a leg break with extra bounce. Playing Samson at No. 3, a position he won’t have in the World Cup, didn’t do him any favours.
Instead, considering him at No. 4 to potentially replace Iyer or No. 5 as a keeper-batter in case KL Rahul doesn’t recover in time for the tournament would have been a better move. Similar to the previous game, the Kensington Oval pitch had plenty of challenges, and the West Indies bowlers were effective, although Kishan and Gill briefly scored runs at a brisk pace.
However, Kishan’s charge against Motie led to his dismissal, and Gill’s attempt to loft the spinner resulted in him being caught at the long-off boundary. Hardik Pandya, acting as the captain on the day, struggled against the short balls and eventually fell trying to pull one, while Axar Patel, now more of a batter than a bowler in white-ball cricket, was sent in at No. 4 but got an unplayable delivery from Romario Shepherd.
Suryakumar Yadav’s promising innings of 24 runs from 25 balls came to an end with a disappointing dismissal when he attempted a cut and was caught at backward point by a fielder. With Suryakumar’s departure, India’s hopes of reaching a total beyond 200 vanished, highlighting the challenges they faced against the West Indies bowlers on a lively pitch.
It will be interesting to see who will have the last laugh in the third game.
Get the latest cricket news here, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram for more such updates.