India vs West Indies 2nd ODI: Rohit Sharma expected to experiment again as IND look to seal series

1-0 ahead in the three-match ODI series, India will be looking to clinch an unassailable lead when they take on hosts West Indies in the second match on Saturday at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Against a team that has failed to qualify for the World Cup, for the first time in history, and are missing star players like Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder, the world No 3 India, who are also the hosts of the World Cup in October-November, are firm favourites to seal the series with one game to go at Trinidad.

However, the focus isn’t only on the results for India. Of course, you don’t want to lose matches and you don’t want to lose momentum going into a mega tournament like the World Cup, but in an assignment where you are already seen as the winners even before competing, it’s inevitable that you experiment and zero in on your combinations.

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Experimentation is even more important for India as they continue to miss some of the key players. Jasprit Bumrah has been declared fit by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, but the pacer hasn’t played any cricket since September 2022. KL Rahul, Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant are all rehabilitating at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bengaluru and there’s no guarantee when they will be back.

Even if they are back, one can’t be sure there will be no further injuries. India have had a poor track record of injuries in the last one year and no risks can be taken.

In that context captain Rohit Sharma was quick to do batting experiments in the first ODI as he dropped himself down to No 7 in India’s five-wicket win and Virat Kohli didn’t even get to bat.

Ishan Kishan and Suryakumar Yadav who were picked to play in the middle-order were promoted up the order. Kishan who is auditioning for the reserve opener and wicket-keeper’s role, grabbed the opportunity with both hands with a fifty that guided India to victory.

When trying to give a chance, India would want to be consistent hence we should expect Sanju Samson to warm the bench again even if SKY only scored 19 in the first ODI from No 3 spot. He got out LBW trying to play a sweep. However, another failure in the second ODI could push him out of the team.

After the victory in the first ODI where India chased down the target of 115 inside 23 overs, Rohit had indicated experiments would continue.

“We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible,” he had said.

Focus on bowlers as well

Another person trying to prove his worth is Kuldeep Yadav. The left-arm wrist-spinner took four wickets for six runs in the first ODI and once again showed that he could be a potent threat against the opponents in the World Cup. In the last 17 ODIs, he has 31 wickets and a good series in West Indies will help him stay No 1 in the race for the wrist-spinners.

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Curiously, Umran Malik was not handed the new ball in the first ODI and it was Hardik Pandya who shared the duties with Mukesh Kumar. The tearaway pacer Umran’s presence in the squad indicates he is part of the World Cup plans but somewhere it seems like the management is fast losing confidence in him. He has played four ODIs in 2023 and has six wickets to his name but was not used in the series against Australia ahead of the IPL and the J&K pacer also had a disappointing IPL 2023.

It will soon become clear if Malik is with the team only because Bumrah, Mohammed Shami and Mohammed Siraj are currently out or if is he with the team because they see potential in him in regards to the World Cup. But whatever the case, when another opportunity comes, Malik must look to make the most of it.

West Indies seek turnaround

The spinning track at the Kensington Oval put the hosts in trouble as Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep combined for seven wickets. West Indies’ innings was shot out for just 114 and only two batters scored more than 20 runs.

Captain Shai Hope blasted the track after the game and rightly so. But with the second ODI in the same stadium, we could expect a similar pitch. While they can’t do much about the pitch now, they can surely work on their execution to put up a stronger fight.

LIVE streaming: India vs West Indies 2nd ODI will be played at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. The match will start at 7 PM IST and will be shown live on the Doordarshan Network, including DD National and DD Sports. The match will be live streamed on Fancode and JioCinema.