Siraj dilemma for India, West Indies suffer Greaves setback ahead of second ODI

 

Siraj
Siraj (PC: RevSportz/Debasis Sen)

Although the Indian team had no training session on Tuesday, head coach, Gautam Gambhir, and captain, Shubman Gill turned up at the Assam Cricket Association stadium in the evening, on the eve of the second ODI against the West Indies. It was learnt they were at the stadium to discuss with the selectors about the squad for the upcoming New Zealand tour. For Gill and Gambhir, the immediate objective, however, would be to win the second ODI and seal the three-match series against the Caribbean side with a game in hand. The Men in Blue registered a convincing win in the series opener at Thiruvananthapuram.

The spotlight will once again be on Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for Wednesday’s game. Kohli scored a stunning hundred in the first ODI while Gill also struck a century as the hosts chased down 296 runs with 8 wickets remaining and 50 balls to spare. Rohit also looked good before he was dismissed on 32 runs. For the local fans, it could probably be the last time they will witness Ro-Ko playing an ODI in Guwahati.

Talking about the bowling, Kuldeep Yadav bowled an incisive spell to underline his importance in the attack, but the pace department looked less convincing in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya, while Mohammed Siraj was left out to try Nitish Kumar Reddy with the new ball in a dress rehearsal for the ODI World Cup next year. The team management’s decision to open the bowling with all-rounder Nitish, rather than the more experienced Mohammed Siraj, raised plenty of eyebrows.

There is a possibility that Siraj can be benched yet again unless the think-tank rotates out one of their frontline quicks. Punjab batting all-rounder Naman Dhir was handed a debut in the absence of injured Hardik Pandya. Dhir bowled five overs for 33 runs but did not get an opportunity to demonstrate his batting ability following his explosive form in the Sher-e-Punjab T20 League.

For the West Indies, Wednesday’s game is effectively a must-win if they are to keep the three-match series alive. The Men in Maroon were dealt a huge blow as centurion in the first game, Justin Greaves, was ruled out with a calf injury. Greaves, who scored his maiden ODI ton in the first match, was involved in a solid opening partnership with John Campbell. The visitors batting will be bolstered with the presence of Sherfane Rutherford, who joined the squad on Monday. Shai Hope’s side will also be looking to improve its fielding after missed opportunities hurt them in the opener, including a dropped chance offered by Gill early in his innings. It will be interesting if the visitors would go for an extra pace by including Shamar Joseph. The 19-year-old leg-spinner Vitel Lawes could also be an option.

The venue has hosted two ODIs before and both involved high scores. In the first ODI held in 2018, India successfully chased 323 against West Indies with both Rohit and Kohli scoring hundreds, while in the second game staged here in 2023 against Sri Lanka, India posted a daunting 323 with a hundred from Kohli. 

As far the weather forecast is concerned, it will be a pretty hot and humid day with the temperatures soaring as high as 34 degrees.  There is also a chance of thunderstorms interrupting play.

Follow REVSPORTZ for more updates. 

        

 

The post Siraj dilemma for India, West Indies suffer Greaves setback ahead of second ODI appeared first on Sports News Portal | Revsportz.



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