Team India suffered a shameful six-wicket defeat to West Indies in the second ODI of the three-match series at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday 29, 2023. This was team India’s first defeat against West Indies in the ODI format after nine consecutive wins. Batting first after losing the toss, India got off to a good start as openers Ishan Kishan made 55 runs in 55 balls and Shubman Gill made 34 runs in 49 balls putting on 90 runs in 16.5 overs. However, the tourists went astray in an embarrassing manner and were all out for 181 runs in 40.5 overs. The inexperienced batting lineup suffered in the absence of the Indian captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both were rested for the game. In reply, West Indies lost three wickets for 72 runs after a good start, Shardul Thakur took 3 wickets giving India some hope. However, West Indies captain Shai Hope led the way from the front and made 63 runs in 80 balls. While Casey Carty also made 48 runs in 65 balls, helping the hosts register a victory in just 36.4 overs.
Team India was heavily criticized on Twitter for their poor performance in the second ODI against the West Indies.
Here are some reactions.
https://twitter.com/Ujjwal_9792/status/1685503565606088704
OUT OF CONTEXT
šµšµ#INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/dfpLcvKqyp— Hassan (@HassanAbbasian) July 30, 2023
Hence Proved,
That Indian Team Middle Order is Nothing Without KL Rahul. Once Again Collapsed While Setting The Target for Opponent.
Worldcup is Impossible without Him #INDvsWI pic.twitter.com/bzTlHPxEMi
— Adarsh Adhikari š (@KL_Adarsh01) July 30, 2023
Without Rohit And Virat,the Indian Team Lost The 2nd ODI Against The
West Indies #INDvsWI #SackDravid #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/CGgKbT4i8X— APH.373 (@Atharv_Hule_03) July 30, 2023
Without Rohit And Virat,the Indian Team Lost The 2nd ODI Against The
West Indies #INDvsWI #SackDravid #SanjuSamson pic.twitter.com/CGgKbT4i8X— APH.373 (@Atharv_Hule_03) July 30, 2023
https://twitter.com/kunaalyaadav/status/1685333083476897793
What has cause to #TeamIndia to suffer a big loss, Overconfidence???#INDvsWI @BCCI pic.twitter.com/a9OL7NNZl4
— Munaf Patel (@munafpa99881129) July 30, 2023
Also Read; It Made Me Strong and Made Me Competitive ā āāStuart Broad on Yuvraj Singhās Six Sixes
Team India coach Rahul Dravid defends decision to rest Kohli, Rohit
The decision to rest senior batsman Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma was widely criticized after India’s loss to the West Indies in the second ODI in Barbados. However, Team India head coach Rahul Dravid defended the move and stated that the management wanted to try the players ahaed of the Asia Cup and World Cup keeping in mind the injury situation.
Dravid explianed;
“This (series) was our last chance to try out some of our players. We have a few players injured, at the NCA. With a month to go for the Asia Cup, we’re running out of time in a lot of ways. We’re hopeful that some of them will be fit for the Asia Cup and the World Cup. We can’t take those chances. We’ve to try out other players and give some chances, so that in a worst-case scenario they have some game time behind them,āĀ
Meanwhile, India and West Indies will face off in the series decinding ODI on August 1 at the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, Trinidad.