Rohit Sharma captivated with his languid brilliance in company of an equally graceful KL Rahul before Kuldeep Yadav got a hat-trick in India’s series-levelling 107-run victory against the West Indies in the second ODI in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday.
The India vice-captain hit his 28th ODI hundred — 159 off 138 balls — and added 227 for the opening stand with fellow centurion Rahul (102 off 104 balls) as India put up an imposing 387 for 5 in 50 overs.
Rishabh Pant (39 off 16 balls) and Shreyas Iyer’s (53 off 32 balls) thoroughly entertaining 72-run stand in only four overs also provided the impetus required during a final flourish.
In reply, the West Indies, who looked good at 192 for 3 in the 30th over, were bowled out for 280 in 43.3 overs. It was Mohammed Shami (3/39 in 7.3 overs), who removed the dangerous Nicholas Pooran (75 off 47 balls) and captain Keiron Pollard (0) off successive deliveries to trigger a West Indies collapse.
Kuldeep (3/52 in 10 overs) then removed the dogged Shai Hope (78 off 85 balls), Jason Holder (11) and Alzarri Joseph (0) off successive deliveries to seal the issue in favour of India. This was his second hat-trick in ODIs. He became the first Indian player to claim two hat-tricks in international cricket.
“The last 10 months were very tough for me. After consistent performances, there comes a phase when wickets don’t come by and you start thinking more about your bowling. After World Cup, I was dropped from the team, then I worked really hard for four months,” Kuldeep said later.
There was another ‘first’. Virat Kohli and Pollard became the first captains to be dismissed without scoring a run in the first ball in an ODI.
On a shirtfront of a track, West Indies were never going to make a comeback after losing five wickets for 18 runs and it was only a matter of time before India ended their four-match losing streak at home.
The decider will now be played at Cuttack on December 22.
Rohit, as usual, batted at his own pace and looked like the bandmaster of an orchestra, who made the Caribbean bowlers dance to his tune.
Kuldeep Yadav on Wednesday became the first India player to claim two hat-tricks in ODIs PTI
Sheldon Cottrell (2/83 in 9 overs) was punished with such ferocity that he didn’t have energy to do a customary ‘Cottrell Salute’ once Iyer was out and it was more or less similar for all others like Alzarri Joseph (0/68 in 9 overs) and Keemo Paul (0/62 in 9 overs).
After the match, Kohli said the way his side have been posting big totals after being put in to bat in the last few ODIs showed that the team was not over reliant on toss.
“In the last three games, including the one at Wankhede and first two ODIs (of this series), we’ve batted well in first half. Batting second isn’t an issue, we’re one of the top sides, if not the best, while chasing. As a captain, nice to see the way we’ve batted first after losing the toss. It shows we’re not reliant on the toss,” Kohi said.
“It’s always good to get 40-50 extra and we want to bat the opposition out of the game. Rohit and KL were outstanding, the opening partnership set it up. Shreyas and Rishabh, the way they played, was outstanding,” he added.
Asked about the 34 boundaries and 16 sixes India hit during the innings in view of the T20 World Cup next year, he said, “The more we get confident in T20s while batting first, the better. There’s no major 50-over cricket now, so we need to just play fearlessly, which is the need of the hour.”
Kohli, however, made his displeasure known about the poor fielding in the last two matches, saying the team will need to maintain high standards in all the departments of the game.
“Reviews are always left upon the keeper and the bowler. Wasn’t really pleased with how we took the review. Catching has been disappointing. We need to field better, we can’t afford to drop catches like we have. It is important to maintain standards. We are one of the best fielding sides in the world,” the India captain said.
