India were stunned by West Indies in the first ODI of their three-match series courtesy brilliant centuries from Shimron Hetmyer and Shai Hope. Trailing the series 0-1, India will now face West Indies in the second ODI at Vishakhapatnam on December 18. The hosts will have to bring their A game if they are to prevent back-to-back series defeats on home soil. India’s bowling unit were ineffective in the middle overs and the struggle to take wickets prevented them from stopping West Indies to chase down the total.
After the rare top-order failure, Team India posted a steep total of 288 all credits to some mature innings by Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant. But Indian bowlers failed to ruffle the Windies batsmen as the visitors hardly broke sweat during the run-chase of 288. To make matters worse, India struggled to fill the quota of the fifth bowler as Shivam Dube and Kedar Jadhav went for plenty. India’s sluggish and sloppy fielding just worked to degrade the team's performance further.
Team India Preview
After the setback in Chennai, Virat and Co. will look to bounce back in Vishakhapatnam but it will be an uphill task for the Men in Blue. India will look to address their bowling woes ahead of the 2nd ODI. India had all sorts of troubles in their bowling department. Indian bowling in the absence of Bumrah and Bhuvneshwar looked jittery. They failed to contain the opposition batsmen while defending a tally on the board in Chennai.
Fielding has been another area of concern for India in the past few series. They dropped a lot of catches in the T20Is and the struggle continued in the First ODI as well. They would want to reflect on that aspect of their game as well.
West Indies Preview
West Indies pulled off a big upset in the first ODI and they would look to produce the same in the second ODI to claim the series. West Indies entered the first ODI with a good momentum. They whitewashed Afghanistan 3-0 in the ODI series in Lucknow and the team continued their form against the mighty India as well. Hetmyer’s and Hope’s scintillating form against India continued as both batsmen notched magnificent centuries. The pair put on an outstanding partnership of 218 to guide their side to the eight-wicket triumph.
West Indies were solid across the board with the ball as well. Sheldon Cottrell, and Alzarri Joseph didn’t allow India’s top order to settle as they sent the top 3 into the pavilion very quickly. Both chipped in with a couple of wickets a piece to restrict the Indian batsmen.
So far, West Indies have made all the right noises, both with bat and ball and they would look to continue this in the second ODI as well.
In the spotlight
Shai Hope
Shai Hope scored a brilliant century in the first ODI and he will be the centre of attraction in the second one as well. Shai Hope has had the most phenomenal last two years as an ODI batsman, averaging 60.54 in 41 innings, with six centuries and 10 half-centuries. This is significantly higher than his overall average of 50.63.
Virat Kohli
The Indian skipper had a rare failure in the last match and he will be itching to lead from the front and get his side back on track. Kohli loves to bat against West Indies and has already racked up 2146 runs in just 35 innings. In his last nine innings alone, he's scored six centuries and 870 runs at an average of 174.
Team news
After an embarrassing defeat in the first ODI, Virat Kohli would be forced to make changes to his side, especially in the bowling department. Shivam Dube who played his debut match in Chennai was very expensive with the ball. Virat Kohli will look to bring a specialist bowler in place of the allrounder. Yuzvendra Chahal is likely to get included in the playing XI.
West Indies, on the other hand, will continue with their winning squad and is unlikely to make any changes in their playing XI.
Pitch Report
The Visakhapatnam pitch is generally a good batting track. It might be a little slow at the start, but the ball will skid onto the bat nicely under lights as the dew is likely to play a big role again. Both the teams would want to bat second.
Weather conditions
The weather in Visakhapatnam will be clear. There are no signs of rain on the game day and it’s expected to be a full 50-over game. The humidity will be high but the wind will provide some respite to the players.
Probable Playing XI
India
Rohit Sharma, KL Rahul, Virat Kohli (C), Shreyas Iyer, Rishabh Pant (WK), Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Deepak Chahar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Mohammed Shami, Kuldeep Yadav.
West Indies
Sunil Ambris, Shai Hope, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Kieron Pollard (C), Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Alzarri Joseph, Hayden Walsh.
