The West Indies came as close to beating India away from home in an ODI as is possible without actually getting the job done in the second ODI of their five-match series.
India’s batting power faltered for once, but skipper Virat Kohli powered them to a score that was probably about par before the tourists came within a hair of overhauling the effort, with the match ending in a tie.
India v West Indies
Saturday, 27 October
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium
Pune | 10:00
To Win Match
India 19/100
Tie 35/1
West Indies 36/10
India
For a long time India’s ODI side have looked close to unbeatable, but they looked a little more human after the tie with the West Indies.
India always look supremely comfortable chasing down scores, but have now shown signs of not being able to assess surfaces accurately when asked to bat first. MS Dhoni was the focus of much of the criticism of the batting display in Vizag. The veteran wicketkeeper-batsman is under pressure to hold onto his place in the team, as Kohli drives his charges towards that World Cup trophy.
Before any trophies are lifted, though, India will have to put the West Indies away. Yuzvendra Chahal and Ravindra Jadeja were targeted by the West Indies batsmen and Kohli will want to see a response from the pair. Kuldeep Yadav was India’s most effective bowler yet again – and will be key to India’s hopes of taking a 2-0 series lead.
Ambati Rayudu showed his middle-order muscle with a well-crafted half-ton to help India out of trouble, but his sloppiness in the field will not have endeared him to his skipper.
This will be the fourth ODI at the Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium – and the first at the venue for the West Indies. India have won two and lost one of the three ODIs played here since the stadium was built in 2012.
West Indies
Despite being down 1-0 in the series, there are a lot of positives for the West Indies to take out of how they have played so far – and the batting of Shimron Hetmyer is perhaps the greatest of those.
Hetmyer backed up a ton in the first match with another big score. Hetmyer fell in the 90s, but he showed the rest of the West Indies batsmen the way with his aggressive intent. Hetmyer’s innings dovetailed well with that of Shai Hope, recorded his second ODI century.
Hope’s innings was one that suggested a coming of age – and the Windies will want to see more of that kind of display in Pune.
Windies spinners Ashley Nurse and Devendra Bishoo bowled far better than they did in the opener, but still need to improve to keep the tourists competitive on this trip.
Verdict: India 19/100
The West Indies blew a shot at pulling off a burglary in Vizag and India will be determined to put them away – and should have the quality to get it done.
