After winning the second match of the three-match series by 44 runs in Ahmedabad on Wednesday (February 9), India won their 11th consecutive bilateral ODI series against the West Indies.
With Kieron Pollard out with a niggle, stand-in team captain Nicholas Pooran won the toss and chose to bowl first, hoping for the humidity factor to kick in later in the evening to help the visitors with their chase.
With skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant, and Virat Kohli back in the pavilion, the West Indies pacers supported their captain’s choice by reducing India to 43/3 in 12 overs. Vice-captain KL Rahul (49) and Suryakumar Yadav (64) formed a 94-run partnership until Rahul was run out owing to a misunderstanding.
Deepak Hooda scored 29 while Odean Smith and Alzarri Joseph each took two wickets as India concluded with 237/9 on the board.
The West Indies’ batsmen never got going, as India’s fast bowlers, led by Prasidh Krishna, hit at regular intervals to hold the visitors in check. Shamarah Brooks (44), Akeal Hosein (34) and Odean Smith (24) all got off to fast starts but were unable to bat long enough to threaten the hosts.
Krishna amazingly ended with 4/12 in nine overs while Shardul Thakur grabbed two wickets. The rest of the bowlers shared the remaining wickets as India cruised to victory while defending a modest total.
During cricket matches, the stump-mic conversation between the players has given fans a glimpse into what happens on the field.
The debate between captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant in the opening match of the recent trilateral ODI series against West Indies on a review gave us glimpses of how players decided something on the field.
On many times, though, the stump-mic also serves as an additional source of entertainment for the audience. Let’s take an example from the second match of the series. Apart from Prasidh’s performance something also caught the people’s attention.
In the final moments, Rohit Sharma was seen scolding Yuzvendra Chahal
Chahal who was taking it leisurely to alter his position after Odean Smith struck a couple of powerful smashes.
The Indian skipper asked the leg-spinner why he was taking so long and then instructed him to rush to his boundary position. Off the pitch, the two are excellent friends and frequently joke around.
However, Rohit Sharma is unaware that whatever he said was recorded on a stump microphone. Rohit can be seen shouting at leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal at the Narendra Modi Stadium on Wednesday in a video that has gone popular on social media, the stump mic captured the spectacular moment.
As caught on the stump mic, Rohit told Chahal,
“Peecha jhaa. Kya hua tereko? Bhaag kyun nahi raha hai theek se? Chal udhar bhaag”
It loosely means, “What happened to you? Why aren’t you running properly? Go and field there.”
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The interesting incident occurred before Mohammed Siraj’s 45th over of the innings, when the Windies scored 11 runs, largely credited to Odean Smith. To prevent an unexpected comeback, Rohit sent the ball to Washington Sundar, who promptly bowled Smith in the same over.
The West Indies were bowled out for 193 runs, and India won by 44 runs to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the series.
The series’ last ODI, a dead rubber, will be played at the same location on Friday before the sides go to Kolkata for the T20I series.