The Karnataka pacer bowled a fabulous spell of 4/12 as India won the second ODI by 44 runs.
The mighty Men in Blue wrapped up their first series victory under new captain Rohit Sharma, as they comprehensively beat the West Indies in the second ODI at Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Prasidh Krishna produced a magical spell of bowling as the Indians successfully defended their first innings total of 237. The three-match series now stands at 2-0, with the third match, although of no consequence to the result of the series, to be played on Friday.
Windies white-ball captain Kieron Pollard’s unavailability meant that explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Nicholas Pooran took charge of the West Indies side, with recent sensation Odean Smith making it in to the playing XI. Pooran won the toss and decided to put the hosts into bat, as they hoped to take advantage of the dew later on in the day.
The Indians sprung a surprise, sending in Rishabh Pant to open the innings along with skipper Rohit Sharma, in what could be a confirmation of vice-captain KL Rahul’s slot in the middle order going forward. Some disciplined fast bowling from Kemar Roach got rid of big fish Rohit Sharma, who tentatively poked at a delivery outside off-stump.
Pant and former skipper Virat Kohli, who walked in at his usual number three position, tried to mitigate the spirited bowling effort by the Caribbean bowlers. However, this was a short-lived effort, as Odean Smith scalped both Pant and Kohli in the same over to leave the Indians reeling at 43/3.
Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul joined hands in the middle and course-corrected the Indian innings, something which could have avoided had Shai Hope taken a regulation catch to dismiss Rahul early on in the innings. Nevertheless, Rahul and Yadav played superbly, breaking the shackles and launching a counter-attack.
Both batsmen played expansive shots when afforded the possibility, and were getting close to the half-century mark, when a mix-up between the batsmen left Rahul stranded, breaking the promising partnership. Yadav continued for a while, before falling to Fabian Allen for a well made 64. Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar both contributed some valuable runs, as India ended their innings on 237/9.
In response, King and Hope did get off to a good start, as a few boundaries after a tight initial period gave a sense that the floodgates might have opened. However, Krishna got King to edge one through to Rishabh behind the stumps, in what was the start of a terrific spell of fast bowling. Krishna also got rid of experienced statesman Darren Bravo shortly after, before Chahal sent Hope packing, leaving the West Indies in a spot of bother.
After the loss of the first few wickets, the Windies innings never really seemed to go anywhere, with wickets falling far too frequently, as captain Pooran, and veteran all-rounder Jason Holder fell cheaply. Shamarh Brooks and spinner Akeal Hossain, who came in at number seven, did play some valuable knocks, as they gave their side an outside chance of coming back into the game but were unsuccessful in their attempts to do so.
Smith struck a couple of big blows towards the end but was eventually dismissed by Sundar. The last nail in the coffin was hammered in by Krishna, and aptly so, as he trapped Kemar Roach in front of the stumps, to wrap up the game, and finished with spectacular figures of 4/12 in nine overs, at an incredible economy rate of 1.33.
Krishna deservedly received the man of the match award for his wonderful spell of bowling, as India claimed the three-match series, with one game yet to be played.
Brief scores
India – 237/9 in 50 overs- (Yadav 64; Rahul 49; Smith-2/29)
West Indies – 193 all out in 46 overs- (Brooks 44; Hossain 34; Krishna 4/12)
India beat West Indies by 44 runs
