Windies v India, 2nd ODI Review: India hand a 105-run thumping in Trinidad

While a palette of greys and greens dominated the backdrop at the Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad, the blue-clad men from India reigned supreme on the cricket field. After having curtailed the match to 43 overs, the rains that played spoil-sport in the first ODI watched from a distance as Ajinkya Rahane crafted a crisp hundred. Ably assisted by Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli, and some looseners at the back end of the innings from the Windies, the visitors posted a daunting total of 310.

An inexperienced Windies batting line-up crumbled early on, Bhuvneshwar Kumar being the architect of the wickets. Shai Hope was promoted to open the innings and fought a lone battle with his 81. With the asking rate ballooning beyond their reach, the Windies fell short by as many as 105 runs.

Needing more than 7 an over in their quest for 311 runs, the Windies thought it fit to rejig their batting order for the tremendous task. Kieran Powell walked out with wicketkeeper- batsman Hope, but the former was back in the dressing room after having faced 3 ‘Bhuvilicious’ deliveries. The hosts were one down without having reduced the deficit by a single run.

The surprise that followed was Jason Mohammed plodding out to the middle, leaving many wondering when Evin Lewis would bat. Mohammed’s stay was a touch longer than Powell’s, but he fell victim to Bhuvneshwar as well. The batsman chased after a wide tempting delivery, but the shot was devoid of any footwork whatsoever. Hardik Pandya completed a nice low catch diving to his left to send Jason Mohammed packing.

Lewis and Hope strengthen the innings, slightly

Two ducks, 4 runs on the board, and Hope yet to get off the mark – the Windies were wounded. Out came a worried Evin Lewis, but began pulling things back to a certain extent. The Hope-Lewis duo stitched a valuable partnership of 89 runs, which took them a ball more than 16 overs. Enter left-arm chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Lewis, in particular, was subdued on 21 off 37 deliveries. He chanced upon a flighted delivery from Kuldeep, but bat never met ball. MS Dhoni behind the stumps whipped the bails off before Lewis could blink.

The Windies were entirely dependent on Hope at 93/3, but he perished soon after for a valiant 81. Kuldeep caught him plumb in front of the stumps, although the umpire offered a shake of the head on the first go. As Virat Kohli opted for a second review, Hope was found guilty of having his leg before the wicket.

Jonathan Carter’s poor run with the bat continued as he fell for 13 to Ravichandran Ashwin. Skipper Jason Holder tried to launch one into next week, only to find MS Dhoni waiting patiently for him to turn back and watch him disturb the woodwork. The task for the Windies went out of hand as they needed over 130 runs from the next 6 overs. As mere formalities, the Indians completed the remaining overs; a resounding victory of 105 runs gave them a 1-0 lead in the series which was reduced to four matches.

Rahane sprints to a century

Earlier in the day, the Indian openers batted with intent, unlike the first ODI. Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane maintained a run rate marginally over 6. Their century stand was broken when Ashley Nurse invited Dhawan to drive through the covers, and keeper Hope caught the batsman well out of his crease. Kohli joined Rahane, and the two added another 97, further putting off the Windies bowlers. While Rahane marched to his 3rd ODI hundred, Virat made his motive clear with a breathtaking six over cover, which was easily the shot of the day.

Rahane’s dismissal brought Hardik Pandya to the crease, who was sent in ahead of Yuvraj Singh to smash some quick runs. The Pandya experiment failed as he holed out to third man for 4. Yuvraj walked back having nicked one to the keeper, and the Indian innings was suddenly experiencing speed-bumps. Skipper Kohli, however, provided the last minute flourish with a couple of sixes and boundaries. As he neared his century, he fell to Alzarri Joseph, the bowler having faced the brunt of India’s onslaught.

Jason Holder’s dramatic last over witnessed 3 waist-high full tosses, off which 2 were called, meaning he was ousted from the bowling attack. Funnily enough, there was just the one ball remaining in the first innings, and a smiling Jonathan Carter jogged in to complete the prolonged over.

22 came from the final six legal deliveries, and India ended with 310 on the board. Team India toppled yet another record and pushed the mighty Australians down to the second position in the list of most 300+ totals in the first innings in ODIs. The second innings panned out exactly how the visitors would have wanted it, Kuldeep Yadav starring with his three-for. As for the Windies, their sorry state in international cricket was exposed heavily against a robust performance by the Indians.

Brief Scores

India 310/5 (Ajinkya Rahane 103, Virat Kohli 87; Alzarri Joseph 2/72)

Windies 205/6 (Shai Hope 81; Kuldeep Yadav 3/50)

Man of the Match: Ajinkya Rahane