India vs West Indies: 2nd ODI Preview
With both teams getting a feeler of the conditions and each other, the Queen’s Park Oval is the venue again, for the second ODI between India and West Indies. The pitch continues to be a sluggish one and runs continue to come at a premium.
The Indians would have been happy to get another win under their belt on Monday. They will go into this game in a confident frame of mind. The visitors’ have few problems and their main concern will be the failure of the top order twice in as many games. Although Dhawan got a half century, he was in no means fluent. India has also been fortunate that their long batting order bailed them out both times. Rohit Sharma was also scratchy during his knock but he got the job done last time out. The Indian bowling unit has been top notch with both Praveen and Munaf doing great with the new ball. The fifth bowlers’ quota also did not concede too many runs and captain Raina will be hoping for more of the same.
The West Indies have a lot more problems. Firstly, their batsmen have got stuck in the middle overs and have not been able to rotate the strike. They have also not been able to pace their innings as they have pressed the accelerator too late. Their lower order lacks the punch to score at a fair clip. Coming to their bowling, the young Anthony Mrtin was impressive but more contribution is needed from experienced hands like Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Rampaul and Darren Sammy. The good news for them is that both Ramnaresh Sarwan and Marlon Samuels got some runs under their belt.
India will not make any changes going into this match. Their batting and bowling units look settled. The Windies on the other hand will look to bring in Kieron Pollard. For that though the young Kirk Edwards will have to make way. Also, they could look at playing the allrounder Andre Russell, but a slotting him will be difficult. However, every West Indian in the playing eleven would know that they are on trial and their place could be up for grabs. It is about time the West Indians started playing to potential. A 2-0 deficit could take the wind out of their sails. They need to bat well and bat big, else the series could be over before the teams head out of Trinidad.
Tags: 2nd ODI, Cricket, IND, India, Live Cricket Score, Live Streaming, ODI Match, ODI Series, Preview, West Indies, WI
