Team India's ambition of securing an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match series took a devastating blow as they suffered an unexpected defeat against West Indies in the second ODI. Stand-in captain, Hardik Pandya, chose to bat after winning the toss as Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were given a much-needed rest. Although Sanju Samson was brought into the playing XI, he couldn't leave a significant impact as India's innings came to a halt at 181 runs in 40.5 overs. The opening pair of Ishan Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) showed promise with a solid partnership of 90 runs, but unfortunately, India faced a batting collapse thereafter.
Team management backs decision to rest players
In response, West Indies faced a few hurdles during their chase but eventually managed to secure victory, winning the match by six wickets.
Regarding the decision to rest Rohit and Kohli, India's head coach Rahul Dravid clarified that the ongoing series provided a crucial opportunity to experiment with different combinations, especially with the upcoming Asia Cup and the World Cup, which will be hosted in India.
"We will always look into the bigger picture and we cannot think about every single game and series. In the series like this, with only two-three matches to go before the world cup and Asia cup, playing Virat and Rohit would not have given us answers," Dravid said after the match.
Despite facing severe criticism for the management's choice to rest Rohit and Kohli, Rahul Dravid asserted that the team remains unfazed by external opinions. He made it clear that the team's focus is not on what others have to say, and they are confident in their decisions and strategies.
"We are not too worried about others opinions, these are the talented boys from our country, they all have performed and come here. It is up to them to take the opportunity when they are given the opportunity. We were little disappointed toward, we knew it was a tricky wicket and not an easy wicket to bat on but we needed to somehow get to 230–240, that could have been a very good score. We lost wickets in the middle and were 50-60 run short," he added.
