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By- Apoorv Dwivedi
After a humiliating whitewash in South Africa, there is some happy news. India has taken an unbeatable 2-0 lead against Keiron Pollard’s side in a 3 match series.
All the 50 over matches are being played at the Narendra Modi Stadium of Ahmedabad.
Highlights of the match
It wasn’t an ideal start for India as it lost 3 wickets for a mere 41 runs after being asked to bat first. KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav prevented a middle-order collapse and knitted a match-winning partnership. Rahul got ran out in a mix-up. Yadav with his 64 runs held one end and India managed a total of 237.
Batting second the West Indian batters could salvage only 193. An attack that could not take wickets in South Africa proved too good for West Indies. Newcomer Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the bowlers as he took 4 wickets.
A brief partnership between Sharmarh Brooks and Akeal Hosein nearly took the game away from the men in blue before Shardul Thakur and Deepak Hooda got rid of them.
Takeaways
The top order of India is a cause of concern. With only one century coming from the top 3 since 2020 there is a need to find the right opening combination. Sending Rishabh Pant to open for a match is not a long-term plan and not necessary as he is playing well in the middle order.
Shikhar Dhawan will be available for the next match starting 11th February, Pant will most likely move to number 5 or 6.
Indian Bowling without the likes of Shami and Bumrah looks like a lethal unit against the West Indies. Chahal is getting back in a form which is good news for the Indian fans.
With the ODI world cup, next year coach Rahul Dravid and skipper Rohit Sharma have a problem of plenty. The Indian team has moved on from the disastrous South African Tour. The question is How long will this good form continue.