With barely three months until the World Cup, India faced harsh criticism for overstretching itself in the opening two One-Day Internationals (ODIs) against the West Indies. For the second ODI, Hardik Pandya captained the team, while Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were rested. The young players were given a chance, but they fell short as Shai Hope’s team prevailed to preserve the series.
The team management chose to support the younger players in the series finale, despite the widespread belief that regular skipper Rohit and talisman batsman Virat would rejoin the team for the pivotal third ODI at Tarouba, Trinidad’s Brian Lara Stadium. Eventually, India won the ODI series 2-1, and now let us look at the top 3 talking points from the ODI series.
1. Ishan Kishan as the third opener?
Ishan had a brilliant outing in all three ODIs, but in the opening position and hence, the choice for him to play in the middle order will definitely be a tricky choice for India. The team management preferred him at the opening slot and he also performed exceptionally well in the series, so it will be tricky to see how he bats lower at other positions in the batting lineup. The south-paw batter scored 184 runs in the three outings in ODIs at an average of 61.33 and a splendid strike rate of 111.52.
2. Shardul Thakur- bowling all-rounder
One of the major performers for the India team was Shardul Thakur, who bowled exceptionally well in the series. Shardul was also the leading wicket-taker in the tournament and most importantly, one major thing which goes in his favor is his knack of picking wickets out of nowhere.
The right-arm bowler finished the series with eight wickets to his name, which was also the highest in the tournament. With this performance, it will be no wrong in saying that he has certainly booked his berth for the ODI World Cup 2023.
3. Problem playing spin for India
The problem in playing spin is not a new problem for the Indian team, this is a problem which has certainly been there for quite a few times now. The pitch in the first two ODIs was certainly spin friendly and in both the innings Indian batting was exposed.
In the first One Day, the Indian team lost five wickets in a chase of 115 while in the second ODI, the entire team got bundled out for just 181. So, moving into the ODI World Cup playing spin will be a crucial challenge for the Indian team.