Three local boys will aspire to spearhead India's challenge in the second One Day International at Delhi's Feroz Shah Kotla on Saturday (LIVE SCORECARD | FIXTURES ). Shikhar Dhawan showed some semblance of form in the first ODI in Kochi, Virat Kohli is desperate to emerge from a run drought and Ishant Sharma has been thrown another lifeline by the national selectors.
Ambati Rayudu congratulates Marlon Samuels after he ended with 126 not out in the 1st ODI vs India.
© BCCI
India remain a massive force on paper but in Kochi West Indies proved that they are not going to be punching bags, at least in the 50-over format. Full of charmers, West Indies' biggest problem has been their consistency. They can go from brilliant to horrible in a matter of overs. But this time, men like Marlon Samuels and Denesh Ramdin seem to be on a mission. The duo scored a match-winning 165 runs for the fourth wicket to make a mockery of Dhoni's bowlers.
The toss can be key. Unlike Kochi, where the balmy weather and overnight rains forced Dhoni to field first after winning the toss, Delhi's clear and sunny weather should simplify decision making. With its formidable batting line-up, Kotla should be a bat-first strip. One-nil down in the five-match series, India are unlikely to experiment with their playing XI. Ishant for Mohit Sharma should be the only change as Dhoni will hope his players strike the perfect balance between bat and ball and back it up with smart fielding.
West Indian coach Curtly Ambrose with Darren Sammy during a practice session in New Delhi.
© PTI
Interestingly, India have played just one ODI versus West Indies at Kotla. Exactly 25 years ago (October 23, 1989), West Indies had beaten India by 20 runs in a low-scoring match. Two men of that 1989 team are here with Dwayne Bravo's side. Richie Richardson, who had top scored with a 57, is the current manager and speedster Curtly Ambrose, who churned out an economical 7-1-19-0, is the bowling coach.
Dhoni's team also has a connection to that 1989 game. Ravi Shastri, in his new role as team director, batted in the middle-order and scored a 25-ball 20, with a six. He was not asked to bowl his left-arm spins. Interestingly, skipper Vivian Richards destroyed India with a six-wicket haul. For a part-time off-spinner to wreck an Indian line-up that had captain Krish Srikkanth, Raman Lamba, Navjot Sidhu, Mohinder Amarnath, Mohammed Azharuddin and Kapil Dev in its ranks, it means the Indians were just overconfident. Dhoni's team will have to guard against similar indiscretion. The lessons from Kochi must be learnt.
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