"No Point...": Twitter Fumes As India Rest Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma In 2nd ODI vs West Indies

29.07.2023 - 15:19 sports.ndtv.com

The Indian cricket team had two notable absentees in Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in the second ODI against West Indies. India managed to clinch the first margin after facing a few challenges.

Ishan Kishan performed exceptionally well with the bat to help India chase down a total of 114. The visitors would be keen to clinch the series with a second consecutive win.

Hardik Pandya is leading India in the absence of Rohit Sharma. Axar Patel and Sanju Samson have been named as their replacements.

India stand-in skipper Hardik Pandya said during the time of toss, "We were looking to bat first. We want to see how much we can score on this pitch which is a bit up and down.

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Virat Kohli is undoubtedly one of the greatest batters in the world across all three formats. Known for his blistering knocks, the 34-year-old batter is en-route to breaking Sachin Tendulkar's historic record of 100 international centuries. While he is breathing fire in the ODIs and Tests, Kohli has not featured in a single T20I match since India's debacle in the semi-final of the T20 World Cup 2022. Kohli, along with skipper Rohit Sharma has been missing out on the T20Is with all-rounder Hardik Pandya, donning the captain's hat.

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India will hope that batsmen will helm their march towards a series-levelling victory over the West Indies with another impact effort in the fourth T20 International at Lauderhill on Saturday. India might have stayed afloat with a win in the third T20I but Windies still lead the series 2-1, a quick reminder to the fact that the visitors still have concerns surrounding the batting unit. It was a comforting sight indeed to see Suryakumar Yadav flicking on his beast mode and Tilak Varma chipping in with crucial runs. But India's opening combination continued to falter.

Not Virat Kohli Or Rohit Sharma, Ex-Pakistan Star Praises This India Player For Making Games One-Sided

Former Pakistan wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal was left in awe of Suryakumar Yadav's brilliance after the India batter guided his side to a seven-wicket win over West Indies in the third T20I of the five-match series in Guyana on Tuesday. Suryakumar was back to his disdainful best as India stayed alive in the series against the Carribean side. West Indies skipper Rovman Powell's whirlwind 40 not out off 19 balls pushed the hosts to 159 for five after Kuldeep Yadav (3/28) stemmed the flow of runs in the middle overs. Debutant Yashavi Jaiswal (1) and Shubman Gill (6) got out cheaply in run chase before Suryakumar came up with a special 83 off 44 balls to help India gun down the target in 17.5 overs.

"Turning Point Has Been...": Tilak Varma's Special Tribute To Rohit Sharma After Scoring Maiden T20I Fifty

Team India faced a shocking two-wicket defeat against West Indies in the second ODI on Sunday. With this loss, the Hardik Pandya-led side has gone down 0-2 in the five-match series. Opting to bat first, Team India posted a total of 152/7. Later, West Indies comfortably chased down the target in just 18.5 overs as Nicholas Pooran scored 67 off 40 balls. In the match where the entire batting unit miserably failed, it was young Tilak Varma, who stood up for Team India and scored a half-century to take the visitors to a respectable total.

"Middle Order Crumbled Without Virat Kohli And Rohit Sharma": Ex-India Star's Warning For Youngsters Ahead Of World Cup

The recently-concluded India vs West Indies three-match ODI series was a good test for the former team that continues to prepare for the ODI World Cup 2023. After the series opener, India rested veterans Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the next two games. The very first game without the two star players saw Indian batting unit failing miserably. The side posted was bundled out for 181 runs batting first before West Indies chased it down in 36.4 overs with six wickets in hand.

Team India Extends 'World Record' With 200-Run Win Over West Indies In 3rd ODI

The Indian cricket team continued its dominance against the West Indies to further increase their lead as the team with the most consecutive bilateral ODI series wins against the Caribbeans. India's mammoth 200-run victory marked their 13th consecutive ODI series win against the Windies. The last time India suffered an ODI series defeat at the hands of the Caribbean team which stretches back to 17 years. India lost the ODI series by 4-1 in 2006 against the West Indies team which was led by the legendary cricketer Brian Lara.