India captain Virat Kohli won the toss and elected to bat against West Indies in the second one-day international in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma was unable to repeat his heroics from the first match with the India opener being dismissed by Kemar Roach for just four.
Rohit’s opening partner Shikhar Dhawa (29) did not last too long at the crease himself with the left-hander falling lbw to Ashley Nurse in the ninth over. Since then, Kohli and Ambati Rayudu have forged a solid partnership with the former going to slam his 49th ODI half-century. The right-hander then became the fastest batsman in history to register 10,000 ODI runs as he went past the 81-run mark in his innings.
The India skipper remained unbeaten on 157 as India posted 321-6 in their 50 overs.
India lost Rayudu (73), MS Dhoni (20) and Rishabh Pant (17) as the death overs approaches. Kohli, meanwhile, slammed a second ODI hundred on the bounce and his 37th overall.
The Windies’ reply to India’s total started on a bright note before Mohammed Shami dismissed Kieran Powell. Shai Hope and Chanderpaul Hemraj batted briskly before Kuldeep Yadav removed the latter with his first over. Since then, Shai Hope and Shimron Heymyer have changed the complexion of the game with some explosive batting. Both the batsmen registered fifties before Hetmyer fell of a 64-ball 94.
Hope though, continued his march and brought up a special ton as Windies neared the target. Jason Holder was run-out with the equations for the Windies coming down to 14 required off the last over. In a dramatic end, Hope struck a boundary off the final delivery to level the scores and the match.
The hosts, who lead the five-match series 1-0, have made just one change from their opening win on Sunday with spinner Kuldeep Yadav coming in for Khaleel Ahmed.
Can India make it 2-0 in the five-match series or will the Windies come roaring back? Do not miss any of the action from the ODI by following the live ball-by-ball updates in the link below.
