IND vs WI 2nd ODI 2023: Indian batters falter as West Indies level series

The batting audition of Indias World Cup aspirants didnt go as per plan on a bouncy track as West Indies levelled the threematch ODI series with a comfortable sixwicket victory riding on superb bowling efforts from Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh MotieIndian team managements decision to rest skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli badly backfired as none of the middleorder batters could cope with pace bounce and turn getting allout for 181 in 405 overs in the rainmarred second ODI here on SaturdayIn reply West Indies survived a lively spell from Shardul Thakur 342 in 8 overs before skipper Shai Hope 63 not out 80 balls and young Keacy Carty 48 not out 65 balls added 91 runs for the unbroken fifth wicket to close the game in 364 overs and break a chain of nine successive bilateral defeats since December 2019However it was an inept batting effort that became Indias undoing Losing five wickets for 23 runs in just 72 overs after opening stand of 90 between Ishan Kishan 55 off 55 balls and Shubman Gill 34 off 49 balls hurt Indias cause after the West Indies skipper Shai Hope opted to bowlThe rationale behind Rohit and Kohlis forced break with only 10 months left before the big event didnt make much sense Not to forget that the failures left more questions than answers There were two rain delays but the West Indies bowlers never let their intensity drop in an impressive displayAlso Read Can Windies keep India from 30 scorelineWhile Kishan who will not open during World Cup consolidated his case for selection as second wicketkeeper provided KL Rahul gets fit for World Cup with a second successive halfcentury the same couldnt be said about Sanju Samson 9 off 19 balls and Axar Patel 1 off 8 ballsPromoted as Nos 3 and 4 to keep the leftright combination going both players struggled not only against shortball tactic employed by Jayden Seales 128 in 6 overs Alzarri Joseph 235 from 7 overs and Shepherd 337 in 8 overs but also the grip turn and bounce that spinners Motie 336 in 93 overs and Yannic Cariah 125 in 5 overs generatedJust like the first game the Kensington Oval pitch had a lot of spice and West Indies bowlers were steady save a brief period when Kishan and Gill did score runs at a brisk pace Kishan gave Motie the charge and got a six while Gills ondrive was a treat for the eyes even though he never looked completely in rhythm Once Motie gave the ball more air a desperate Gill tried to loft him but was holed at longoff boundaryKishan who had by then completed his 50 tried to square cut Shepherd when the ball bounced a tad more and the width wasnt big enough but Alick Athanaze took a fine diving catch at pointStandin skipper Hardik Pandya 7 off 14 balls was peppered with short balls and finally his patience gave off as he tried to pull Seals and Brandon King had an easy catch at midwicket Seals and Joseph had pried on the Pandyas patience for a fair durationAxar Patel 1 who is now more of a batter in white ball cricket than a bowler was sent in at No 4 a slot which India havent yet got a hang since they are waiting for Shreyas Iyer to get fit He got an unplayable one from Shepherd and it brushed his gloves before landing safely into Shai Hopes glovesSamson who has a good chance of missing out on the final 15 berth never looked in sync having last played a competitive match on May 19 in the IPL He has never read legspinners well in his career case in point Wanindu Hasaranga in Sri Lanka in 2021 and never looked comfortable against Cariahs legbreaks When he got out it was a legbreak and extra bounce and Samson couldnt remove his bat from the line of the ball However playing him at No 3 where he wont get a chance in World Cup didnt do his cause any good Rather checking him at No 4 where he could replace Iyer or No 5 as a keeperbatter in case Rahul doesnt make it in the end would have been a better moveAs far as Suryakumar Yadav 24 of 25 balls is concerned his diehard fans will tear their hair in frustration after three boundaries including a crunchy pullshot raised hopes of revival The dismissal was a meek one when Motie bowled one wide off offstump and it had turn and bounce enticing him to play the cut which landed into fielders hands at backward point With Suryas departure Indias hopes of crossing 200 evaporatedThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever