In a significant victory, the West Indies defeated India in a 50-over match for the first time since December 2019. After a series of nine consecutive defeats, the West Indies returned to winning ways by outclassing India in the second One Day International (ODI) of the three-match series. Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra raised questions about India’s tactics in the 2nd ODI against the West Indies following the loss.
In the series opener, India comfortably defeated the hosts, but in the second ODI, skipper Rohit Sharma and former captain Virat Kohli were rested, and young players and potential World Cup contenders were given a chance by coach Rahul Dravid and his team. However, this decision to rest Rohit and Kohli backfired as the Hardik Pandya-led side lost the match by six wickets.
In the absence of Rohit and Kohli, all-rounder Axar Patel was promoted to the No.4 position in the batting order, and wicketkeeper-batsman Sanju Samson failed to perform as expected. Analyzing the match on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra made an interesting statement about Axar Patel, who had a forgettable outing with both bat and ball in the game.
Akash Chopra criticises Dravid
“Axar Patel was sent at No. 4 here – how, why, when, where? I have a lot of respect and admiration for Axar but Axar is never going to play at No. 4. What are his chances of playing for India at No. 4 from the World Cup or the Asia Cup perspective? I don’t see him playing there in 50-over cricket,” Chopra said.
In the second ODI against the West Indies, India’s openers Kishan (55) and Shubman Gill (34) both contributed significant hits. Suryakumar Yadav, a middle-order hitter, was out for 24 runs in 25 pitches, and interim captain Pandya was out for 7 runs in 14 pitches. India was only able to score 181 in 40.5 overs, and the team lost the match by six wickets without Rohit.
“I have another question – is it tenable? Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill will open and Virat Kohli will play at No. 3 and all three are right-handers. If you want a left-right combination so much, will you play a left-hander by sending one of them down the order? That’s not going to happen – so what was Axar Patel doing at No. 4?,” Chopra added.
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