The second game of the three-match ODI series is set to be played at Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday between India and West Indies where the Men in Blue would be looking to seal the series.
The first ODI played at the same venue was a one-sided affair with the visitors winning the battle easily by 5 wickets. Without any thought, Rohit Sharma opted to field first on a slow wicket and made the best use of it by experimenting well with their bowlers.
The heroics from Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja were the highlights of the day as they bundled out the Windies for just 114 runs at their home. No one apart from the Windies skipper Shahi Hope, who scored 43 runs, managed to score well as the home side ended the battle with another terrible show.
What have they done so far?
Team India has been phenomenal so far on the tour after winning the Test series with ease and then the first ODI at Barbados. There was no competition seen from the hosts in the opening match as the whole side was back in the pavilion for just 114 runs.
This all happened because of the duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav who made the best use of the pitch with their flighted deliveries. While Kuldeep was too economical in his spell, Jadeja spent some runs but was still handy in the end.
Kuldeep picked up four wickets in only three overs with an economy of just 2 whereas the man from Saurashtra grabbed three wickets by giving 37 runs in 6 overs. The pace-attack of Hardik Pandya, Mukesh Kumar and Shardul Thakur picked up one wicket each.
Ravindra Jadeja and Rohit Sharma celebrating after Shimron Hetmyer’s wicket
On the batting front, skipper Rohit Sharma tried to experiment by sending Ishan Kishan to open the innings alongside Shubman Gill and the southpaw impressed his skipper with a well-deserved half-century.
Kishan scored 52 runs off just 46 deliveries to set the tone of the innings, however, there was no support for him from the other end as Shubman Gill, Hardik Pandya, and Suryakumar Yadav failed to score runs.
Rohit Sharma came in at number 7 after the wicket of Shardul Thakur and finished the game with a boundary whereas Virat Kohli didn’t bat throughout most probably due to chances given to the other players to showcase their skills.
Now, Team India would want to wrap up the series in the next ODI only by not depending on the final game. They have been in superb touch and can beat the hosts with ease in this encounter as well.
On the other hand, the hosts are under immense pressure to come back in the series. They need to win this match to keep the series alive, otherwise, it is going to be another terrible series for the two-time ICC ODI World Cup champions.
Head to Head Record
India and West Indies have met in 139 ODIs to date with the Men in Blue winning 71 matches out of it. On the other hand, West Indies have come out on top on 63 occasions with the credit going to the old squad of the Caribbean side when the team used to win a lot against India in any part of the world, however, things have changed now and it’s not easy for the Windies to win in that manner.
Key Players
Gudakesh Motie was impressive during the first ODI against India
Gudakesh Motie: Gudakesh Motie came out as a surprise package for the West Indies as he picked up two big wickets of Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav in the first game. The left-arm orthodox bowler impressed many with his flighted deliveries which went past the batsmen on several occasions.
Motie kept the Indian skipper under some pressure when he was batting towards the end, however, due to less score he couldn’t do much with his bowling. The match could have been much more interesting if Windies would score around 230-240. Now, he would like to bowl with a similar intent in the next ODI to get more wickets.
Kuldeep Yadav: It was a treat to watch Kuldeep Yadav bowling with such class on a tough wicket and the left-arm chinaman picked up four crucial wickets in his spell in the first ODI. With his solid performance, he has most likely booked his spot for the upcoming ODI World Cup.
Kuldeep would like to continue his good run in the next ODI as well to maintain his rhythm as he will go as the frontline spinner this time for his side. What made his performance even more impressive was his economy rate as he bowled with an economy rate of 2 in his three overs which is excellent for any bowler.
Prediction
With the way Indian players are stepping up in this series, it looks like the team is set to win the series in the second ODI only. Every decision by Rohit Sharma went in favour of India which is a positive sign for the team before the mega event in October.
Now, the skipper would like to experiment more in the second match related to the batting order and bowling changes to get more clarity going forward. So, the prediction would be India winning this game with ease.