India slumped to a six-wicket defeat against West Indies in the second ODI of their three-match series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Sunday. Chasing a target of 182 runs, the hosts reached 182/4 in 36.4 overs.India rested captain Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the match, which showed in their batting as they managed to bowl out 181 in 40.5 overs. Ishan Kishan top scored for India with a knock of 55 as he ran out in 55 balls. Meanwhile, Gudakesh Motie and Romario Shepherd scalped three wickets for West Indies.
After the match, India head coach Rahul Dravid defended the decision to rest Rohit and Virat. He also stated that India will follow a similar strategy in terms of team selection in the upcoming matches due to the World Cup and Asia.
“I think we’re always going to look at the bigger picture. To be very honest with you, at this stage of the cycle with the Asian Cup and the World Cup coming up and the injuries we’ve got, we have to look at the big picture. we have to look at things like that. We can’t worry about every single game and every single series. If we do, I think it will be a mistake,” he said.
The result also ended a 55-month losing streak against India (nine-match losing streak). West Indies last won an ODI against India in December 2019 when they won by eight wickets in Chennai.
Rohit and Virat are expected to return to the playing eleven for the third and final ODI, which will also be a decider. India’s stand-in captain for the second match, Hardik Pandya, said of the upcoming match: “Be a tortoise, not a rabbit. I hope everything goes well during the World Cup. They will be tested, we will be tested.” Now that the streak is 1-1. The next match will be exciting for the spectators and the players.”
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