After India lost to West Indies in 2nd ODI, the swords are out. Fans have taken to social media websites to register their disappointment in the Men in Blue. Not just the loss, but several experiments before the ICC Men's ODI World 2023 has angered the emotional fans. Captain Rohit Sharma rested himself while Virat Kohli was also not included for the 2nd ODI, giving an opportunity to the young guns in the team to do the job. However, they could not live up to either the standards of Indian cricket or expectations of the team management, losing the match by 6 wickets.
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India, asked to bat first, managed just 181 in 40.5 overs with only good performance coming from Ishan Kishan who stroked 55. Shubman Gill got the start but lost his wicket at personal score of 34. From thereon, no one really raised their hand.
Head Coach Rahul Dravid explains #TeamIndia's selection in the second #WIvIND ODI _ pic.twitter.com/65rZUtuIaV
— BCCI (@BCCI) July 29, 2023
West Indies, powered by captain Shai Hope's unbeaten 63 and 48 not out by Keacy Carty, chased down the total in just 36.4 overs.
Speaking on what went wrong for India, stand-in captain Hardik Pandya blamed the batters. He said that Indian team did not bat well, showing his disappointment and pointing out the learnings too. "We didn't bat in the way we were supposed to. The wicket got much better than the first innings. Disappointing, but got to learn many more things," said Hardik in the post-match presentation ceremony.
The only positive for India from this game was how Ishan and Shubman batted at the top, putting on 90 for the first wicket. Hardik said that partnership was good to see. "The way the openers batted, the way Kishan batted, it's important for Indian cricket. Thakur kept our hopes alive."
Hardik credited Hope for batting well under pressure while he also praised Shardul Thakur for keeping India in the game. Not to forget, Hardik said that he is still not bowling at his full speed. He added that he needs to bowl more overs before the World Cup. "I have to bowl more overs to get ready for the World Cup. Being a turtle at the moment, not a rabbit. Hoping everything goes well during the World Cup."
