IND vs WI 2nd Match, WI vs IND 2022

Arya- Earlier in the day, it was the West indies skipper Nicholas Pooran who again won the toss, but this time decided to bat first, due to the result in the first encounter. The Windies openers Kyle Mayers and Shai Hope got their side off to a blazing start. Mohammed Siraj hit the right channels but his new ball partner, Avesh Khan who was making his debut in this encounter was very expensive in his first spell, which allowed Mayers in particular to get West Indies off to a brisk start.

Hope took his time initially but looked in great shape from the outset. He is known to be a player who tends to play the fifty overs and the West Indies innings revolved around him. With so many power-hitters in their ranks, the plan was Hope to play till the end. Mayers was looking in sublime touch and raced off to 39 in just 22 deliveries before perishing at the hands of Deepak Hooda. He ended up chipping a gentle off-break straight back to the bowler. His innings were studded with 6 fours and a six. 

Deepak Hooda who didn’t have too much experience of bowling in the international arena had a great time with the ball. He managed to chip away with some tidy overs which allowed Dhawan to make up for the overs of Avesh Khan as he was having a tough day in the office. Axar Patel also bowled in the right channels and didn’t allow the duo of Shamrah Brooks and Shai Hope to cut loose. Eventually, it was Axar Patel who got the wicket of Brooks with great delivery. It pitched on a good length around off, turned a bit and the outside edge was brilliantly taken by Shikhar Dhawan at slip. 

India got one more wicket in quick time as Yuzvendra Chahal got rid of Brandon King on a duck. He went for a sweep to a tossed-up delivery and ended up top-edging that straight down the throat of the short fine leg fielder. Skipper Nicholas Pooran was at his ominous best and his six-hitting ability was in display today. He took his time initially when the hosts looked under the pump but then played some delightful shots, especially against the spinners. 

He kept dancing down the track and kept depositing the spinners to different parts of the ground. The hard-hitting left-handed batter eventually scored 74 of 77 deliveries, an innings which included 6 sixes and a solitary four. Such was his dominance in six hitting today, the balls kept clearing the fence in an effortless fashion. It was Shardul Thakur who castled him round the legs when Pooran shuffles way too across the ended up seeing his leg stump getting rattled. 

Shai Hope kept ticking along the score with singles and doubles. He finally opened up after reaching his 13th ODI century. It was a brilliant knock but his strike rate might have made a difference from a strong 350 to a more than competitive 311. He was eventually dismissed on 115 of 134 deliveries. He struck 8 fours and 3 sixes in the process. He would have hoped to kick on a bit more but nonetheless, it was an impressive knock as he managed to hold the innings together. 

There was some useful contribution from Romario Shepherd (15 of 11) and Akeal Hosein (6 of 4) in the end which propelled West Indies to the 311 mark. Shardul was the pick of the bowlers for India, finishing with 3/54. 

Arya- A target in excess of 300 is never easy irrespective of conditions. The surface wasn’t the easiest to bat on, but once set it looked evident that a batter can go a long way. Once again, Shubhman Gill looked in fluent touch and struck some delectable shots up front. However, Shikhar Dhawan was struggling big time and failed to find the gaps in the powerplay. Gill drove and cut brilliantly and again looked set for a big score. 

Dhawan on the other end was struggling for runs and was eventually dismissed on 13 of 31 deliveries. Gill was dismissed soon after as he tried to ramp one back of a length delivery from Kyle Mayers over the keeper’s head but ended up cue-ending that straight down the throat of the bowler. It was an easy return catch for Mayers. Suryakumar Yadav made his intentions clear as he struck a massive six over long-on to get his innings going. 

However, for one more time, he managed to chop a good-length delivery a tad outside off straight onto his stumps. This was not the first time, he has been dismissed in this fashion. From there on, it was Shreyas Iyer and Sanju Samson who resurrected the run-chase and batted sensibly. Both took their chances and succeeded on most occasions. They hardly played a false shot and looked in complete control of proceedings. 

Samson used his feet to perfection and never allowed the required rate to climb over the manageable limits. Iyer also gained in confidence and struck some exceptional shots during his half-century, his second on a trot. Iyer was eventually dismissed on 63 of 71 deliveries. Cricket is a game of fine margins and it was on display during his dismissal. The replays suggested the ball would have just clipped the leg stump. 

Samson went on to reach his maiden ODI half-century and looked set to take India over the line. However a lapse in concentration allowed West Indies to get on top again. Deepak Hooda called for a quick single but by the time Samson responded, it wasn’t possible for him to make the crease. Axar Patel was the next man in and he looked like a man on a mission. 

He had a great start to his innings and got going right from the word go. He struck 3 sixes in quick time to race off to 30 in 18 deliveries, while Hooda was giving him ample support. He kept giving the strike to Axar as he pressed on the accelerator and got India back into the game. Deepak Hooda was dismissed in a crucial juncture of the game which brought Avesh Khan into the crease. 

Axar Patel kept striking hard and was the lone warrior who kept India in the game. He played an incredible knock and took a liking to the West Indies bowlers despite the fact that they were in the ascendancy for the majority of the game. He smashed an unbeaten 64 of just 35 deliveries and struck a straight six to seal the deal for India. Avesh Khan also struck two important boundaries but in the end, the difference was Axar Patel. He struck 3 fours and 5 sixes during his match-winning knock.