That India sealed the ODI series with a game to spare against a hapless West Indies outfit with a second successive win on Wednesday was not surprising. Some of the tactics adopted by India were impressive as it indicated its willingness to experiment with an eye on next year’s World Cup.
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Three glaring tactical changes were employed by the captain-coach combination of Rohit Sharma and Rahul Dravid. Although not all of the experiments paid off on Wednesday, it showed their desire to be dynamic, something that’s often lacked in India’s limited-overs set-up in the recent past.
Opening with Pant
Often has India been bogged down at the top, with three accumulators. Pant was promoted as Rohit Sharma’s opening partner on Wednesday. If Pant is persisted with and can be given the license to go for the kill, he can be the game-changer that India is looking for.
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It will also allow Rohit and Virat Kohli to take their time, which they usually prefer, without the team suffering scoreboard pressure. What happens to Shikhar Dhawan then? Well, Pant’s promotion also gives a clear signal to the veteran left-hander that time is, indeed, running out for him.
Shardul using the new ball
With the pace bowling allrounder having the knack to move the ball in the evenings, Rohit threw the new ball to him to see if he can use it to his advantage. But with a moderate target to defend, Rohit quickly went back to Prasidh Krishna, who was all over the Windies batters.
The ploy indicated that India was being more flexible, instead of sticking to the same module. After all, both Shardul and Prasidh are far from being certainties in India’s XI for the World Cup. The duo was presented with an opportunity to make a case for themselves in different roles.
Swapping Washington and Hooda’s batting position
With 20 overs remaining at the fall of the fourth wicket, India sent Washington Sundar in. It gave Washington a chance to build his innings, while Hooda was asked to be the big-hitter towards the end. Despite his clinical stroke-making, Washington is yet to get his hands on range-hitting.
As a result, the allrounder was asked to play to his strength. The move hinted at India looking at him as Ravindra Jadeja’s back-up for the allrounder’s role.
That Hooda was also asked to bowl for the first time in international cricket was also an indication of the management exploring various options.
Wait and watch
Cut to Friday and despite continuing with these experiments, India will be keen to register its maiden series whitewash versus West Indies at home. While the visiting side will hope for Kieron Pollard’s return, India has decided to wait and watch on the availability front.
The trio of Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer and Ruturaj Gaikwad have rejoined the group after recovering from COVID. A decision on their participation in the third ODI will be taken on Friday when the medical staff will assess them.
The teams (from):
India: Rohit Sharma (Capt.), K.L. Rahul (Vice-Capt.), Mayank Agarwal, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda, Rishabh Pant, Deepak Chahar, Shardul Thakur, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Ishan Kishan, Washington Sundar, Shikhar Dhawan, Shreyas Iyer, Ravi Bishnoi, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Avesh Khan and Ruturaj Gaikwad.
West Indies: Kieron Pollard (Capt.), Nicholas Pooran (Vice-Capt.), Fabian Allen, Darren Bravo, Roston Chase, Sheldon Cottrell, Dominic Drakes, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith and Hayden WalshJr.
Match starts at 1.30 p.m.