At Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday, the second One-Day International in a three-match series, West Indies capitalized on a beneficial surface and an unimpressive batting performance by India to dismiss their opponents for 181 after 40.5 overs of batting first. This match was the second of a series that consisted of three matches.
After an opening partnership of 90 runs between Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill, India lost ground due to the efforts of the left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie and the seamer Romario Shepherd, who each took three wickets.
After Motie took out the opening pair, the visitors had a difficult time gaining any momentum in the middle or lower order due to the fact that their innings was interrupted twice by seasonal rains.
Kishan sliced a short ball from Shepherd four balls later, but it was superbly held by Alick Athanaze diving at backward-point. Gill was caught at long-off on 34, and four balls later, Alick Athanaze made a diving catch at backward-point.
Kishan’s 55, which was his second fifty-point score in a row, was scored off 55 balls and included six fours and one six.
The speed of Alzarri Joseph (2 for 35) again proved to be unnerving for the away team, while Suryakumar Yadav, who was the only other player in the lineup to stay any length of time in the middle, was the only other player in the line-up to reach 24.
After suffering a convincing loss in the first encounter, which took place on Thursday at the same location, the West Indies decided to replace all-rounders Rovman Powell and Dominic Drakes with middle-order batsman Keacy Carty and Joseph. The result was a defeat by five wickets.
Both India’s usual skipper Rohit Sharma and top batsman Virat Kohli were given the day off in this series to emphasize the team’s aim to utilize it for ongoing experimentation in preparation for the World Cup, which will be hosted by India in October.
Batsman Sanju Samson and left-arm spinner Axar Patel were promoted to take their spots, while vice-captain Hardik Pandya was promoted to the role of skipper for this match.