Newly-appointed captain Rohit Sharma has finally got his first series win as an Indian skipper after the men in blues won by 44 runs against West Indies in the second ODI at Ahmedabad. This win gave India an unassailable lead in the three-match series. It is a very rare occasion when India post a total below 250 at home, but with a strong bowling effort, they contained West Indies to below 200. The star of the match is Prasidh Krishna, who bowled an excellent spell to have a figure of 4/12. Let’s look at the major
Here are the talking points from the game-
Rishabh Pant opened the batting with Rohit Sharma
In the absence of Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma tried a right and left-hand combination at the opening order with promoting Rishabh Pant to partner him. Pant usually comes onto bat at number 4 to number 6 for India and it was a surprise move. Pant managed just 18 runs in 34 balls as he departed in the 12th over of India’s innings. After Pant’s early dismissal, Rohit Sharma says it was just an experiment and not a permanent decision.
“I have been asked to do different things, so this was different. People will be happy seeing Rishabh open then, but yeah it is not permanent. We will get Shikhar back next game, and he needs some game time. It is not always the results. We want to try a few things with the long term in the mind so we don’t mind if we lose the odd game in the process,” Rohit revealed in the post-match presentation ceremony.
Promising show by the Indian middle-order under Rohit Shrama
The top three of the Indian batting order got dismissed early as West Indies bowlers put pressure after sending the home side to bat first. Captain Rohit Sharma departed for only 5. After that, KL Rahul and Surya Kumar Yadav put up a formidable partnership in the middle of the innings to help India post a fighting total on the board.
Prasidh Krishna’s best spell in national colours
After having a small total on the board, India needed early wickets. West Indies started their innings really well but Prasidh Krishna came to the rescue for the home team. The former Kolkata Knight Riders pacer bowled an excellent spell with the new ball and continuously bowled at a good pace after getting introduced after the 8th over. Rohit Sharma defines this spell as one of the best he has seen.
“I was a little surprised to not see the dew but again I am not taking anything away from the bowling unit. I have not seen that kind of spell in a long long time in India. He bowled with skill, he bowled with pace. All in all a great bowling effort,” Rohit added.
India will play the third game in the series on Friday before heading to Kolkata to play a three-match T20 series against West Indies.
