Prasidh Krishna's 4/12 helps India win the 2nd ODI and Series against West Indies
Brief Scores: India 237 for 9 (Suryakumar Yadav 64, KL Rahul 49*; Alzarri Joseph 2/36, Odean Smith 2/29) beat West Indies 193 all-out (Sharmarh Brooks 44, Akeal Hosein 34; Prasidh Krishna 4/12, Shardul Thakur 2/41) by 44 runs
The Men in Blue locked horns with the Caribbean side in the second ODI of the three-match series on Wednesday, February 9, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Having already won the first ODI comfortably by 6 wickets and taking the lead in the series, the hosts had the visitors' back against the wall, especially thanks to the ominous form of skipper Rohit Sharma and Suryakumar Yadav. The bowlers had also done a phenomenal job of bundling out the Caribbeans within 43.5 overs and paved the way for the team's easy triumph.
The West Indies team, which had to turn on their survival mode, had luck in their favour as they won the toss, and Nicholas Pooran who got the opportunity to captain the team for the first time, opted to chase on a pitch that had favoured the chasing team 4 out of 5 previous occasions.
India succumbed to sluggish start
Experimenting with a new left-right opening combination, India skipper Rohit Sharma promoted wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant as the opener while dropping Ishan Kishan for the game. The experiment didn’t seem to take off as Rohit Sharma departed early on in the innings when Kemar Roach trapped him with a thick top-edge towards the keeper. Roach got the big fish in the form of the Indian skipper for a mere 5 runs off 8 deliveries.
The new batter Virat Kohli, playing his 100th ODI in India, came to the crease and smacked Roach for a cover driven boundary. He was dismissed early on by Alzarri Joseph in the last game, so the intent was to spend time and get the run-flow going. But at the same time, West Indies bowlers kept Kohli and Pant from getting singles and conceded very few boundaries.
Indian batting trips after powerplay
The pressure imposed by the WI bowlers was such that India’s scoring rate became sluggish and kept clocking below four runs per over. After the powerplay, the Indian scorecard read 37/1, and the run-rate was at 3.70.
Odean Smith, who was introduced during the last over of the powerplay, got the visitors their second breakthrough in his second over in the first delivery of the 12th over. He dismissed Rishabh Pant who was batting on 18 runs off 34 deliveries; the wicketkeeper-batter lapped the ball towards Jason Holder stationed on the on-side, in an attempt to play a pull shot off Smith’s over-pitched delivery. Odean Smith inflicted another damage in the same over as he trapped Virat Kohli (18 runs off 30 balls) behind the wicket for his second wicket of the game in what was the third loss for India. The hosts were found struggling acutely at 43/3 after 12 overs, after having lost the top three batters who failed to score significant runs.
KL Rahul-Suryakumar Yadav stage innings revival
New batters Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul arrived at the crease when the Indian dugout was expecting a partnership. Both the new batters on the crease, enjoying the forms of their lives, started with a rather defensive approach, respecting the captaincy of Pooran and his smart tactic of rotating the bowlers. The initial overs went for either maiden, single or a couple of runs only. While the West Indies bowlers managed to squeeze the Indian run rate, the duo on the crease settled down and got occasional boundaries.
As a result, India’s score ticked to 68/3 after 20 overs, with Surya and Rahul batting on 17* and 7* runs, respectively. In between, luck also came in play for the Indian team in the 18th over when Shai Hope dropped an easy catch of KL Rahul behind the wicket off Roach’s delivery.
KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav later went on to add 90 runs in their partnership by tactfully and selectively attacking Odean Smith and Fabian Allen for occasional boundaries. However, the partnership that was steadily sailing to 100 runs came to a halt as KL Rahul got run-out on 49 runs off 48 deliveries following a coordination error. India lost their fourth wicket on the fourth ball of the 30th over and the scorecard changed to 134/4.
Suryakumar Yadav went on to get runs and scored his second half-century in ODIs. His runs came under tremendous pressure and also helped the team go past the 150-run mark. He stitched a 43-run partnership with Washington Sundar (24), before departing in the 39th over after scoring 64 runs, the highest among the Indian lot in the game.
Lower-order batting adds 51 runs to the team total
Deepak Hooda, playing just his second international game scored 29 runs before getting caught at deep cover by Akeal Hosein off Jason Holder’s delivery. Shardul Thakur (8) and Mohammad Siraj (3) surrendered to Alzarri Joseph who finished with 2/36 in his spell. India’s lower-order, along with the tail-enders added 51 runs to take the team total to 237/9 in 50 overs.
India’s bowlers break promising WI start
Chasing a modest target of 238 runs, West Indies openers Shai Hope and Brandon King gave a decent start to the side. In contrast, Shardul Thakur and Mohammed Siraj too gave a decent start to India, by pitching two consecutive maiden overs. However, the first big over for West Indies came in the 6th over when both the batters punished Thakur for 13 runs in redemption.
The visitors’ dominance was impending and was duly silenced when Prasidh Krishna not only patched the run-flow but dismissed Brandon King (18 runs off 20 balls) by trapping him behind the wicket, taken easily by Pant. Krishna continued his assault with a clever delivery resulting in the dismissal of new batter Darren Bravo who departed dejected after adding just one run to the team total, while Krishna delivered the first maiden wicket over of the game. Visitors too choked to the Indian bowling attack and lost two wickets at the end of powerplay with their score at 39/2.
Prasidh Krishna throttles WI with short balls
Prasidh Krishna finished as the most economical and successful bowler for India, and his wickets included the likes of WI skipper Nicholas Pooran who departed cheaply for 9 runs off 13 deliveries. Krishna delivered wicket-taking length deliveries and bouncers from his arsenal and put India in total command of the game.
West Indies were reeling at 66/4 after 20 overs, with new batter Jason Holder and Sharmarh Brooks on the crease. The visitors lost yet another wicket in the 22nd over when Thakur struck with his first wicket and got Holder cheaply with a well-directed short-ball which the batter hit towards deep-square leg and got caught by Deepak Hooda. Half the West Indies team was already in the dug-out and under tremendous pressure to chase down 162 more runs with 5 wickets in hand in 28 overs.
Sharmarh Brooks-Akeal Hosein partnership goes in vain
While West Indies struggled to save wickets, Sharmarh Brooks showed character and grit during the chase. Brooks engaged in a 41-run partnership with Akeal Hosein, who scored 34 runs off 52 deliveries. However, Rohit Sharma introduced Deepak Hooda in the 31st over and the youngster didn’t disappoint as he took his maiden ODI wicket in the form of Sharmarh Brooks (44 runs off 64 balls). West Indies were nearing another loss as their score read 120/6 in 31 overs.
After Brooks’ departure, Akeal Hosain put up a 42-run stand with Fabian Allen (12 runs) and revived some hopes of the side’s victory. Unfortunately, he departed when West Indies were reeling at 159/8 in 40 overs. India’s bowlers had to struggle a bit for the final wicket when Prasidh Krishna, the most economical and successful bowler of the day bowled a fullish delivery and trapped Kemar Roach lbw to take India to a 44-run victory. West Indies were bundled out on 193 in 46 overs and lost their 11th consecutive ODI series against India.
IND vs WI: Player of the match
Prasidh Krishna lifted the player of the match award for his match-winning spell and career-best figures of 4/12. It was his second four-wicket haul in ODIs and performed well while defending the target of 237 runs.
West Indies and India will next lock horns in the third and final ODI at the same venue on Friday, February 11.
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