Dominant India look to extend winning streak vs hapless WI
Visakhapatnam: Their batting in red hot form, hosts India will look to extend their dominance and take a 2-0 lead against the West Indies when the two sides lock horns in the second One-day International (ODI) here on Wednesday.
In the five-match series, Virat Kohli and Co. have won the first ODI in Guwahati with ridiculous ease despite the Windies managing to post a mammoth total of 322/8 thanks to Shimron Hetmyer's swashbuckling century.
Rohit Sharma (151 not out) and Virat Kohli (140) helped the hosts gun down the target with 47 balls to spare, smashing a few records in the process.
If captain Kohli adds another 81 runs to his already peerless tally, he will become the fastest batsman to 10,000 runs in this format, surpassing batting legend Sachin Tendulkar.
Tendulkar took 259 innings to reach the landmark while Kohli has so far batted 204 times.
On a flat deck, Indian bowlers did not fare well but the top order took the game away from their rivals in style.
Under fire Mahendra Singh Dhoni will look to get some runs in the second ODI but against this toothless Windies attack, it is unlikely whether the veteran stumper, who is not in the best of form, will get an opportunity to bat.
India could draft in chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who did not play in the opening game, to replace Khaleel Ahmed, who looked out of sorts against Hetmyer.
For the visitors, the seasoned Marlon Samuels is part of the squad but he perished quickly in the first match.
He would look to make up for his failure, just like India's Shikhar Dhawan.
Pace spearhead Kemar Roach is back after missing the Test series due to bereavement in the family, but he could not inspire the team first up.
Roach will get another opportunity on Wednesday, and so will the likes of Devendra Bishoo, and skipper Jason Holder himself.
In awe of Virat Kohli's batting prowess, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal in Dubai on Tuesday said the prolific Indian captain does not seem human sometimes.
"I sometimes feel he is not human because of the way he performs, my goodness, the moment he comes out to bat, it looks like he is going to score a hundred every game," Iqbal was quoted. "The way he looks after himself, the way he works on his game, it's unbelievable. He is probably the number one in all three formats.
"He is someone to watch and admire and also learn from. I think he has been fantastic," he added.
Kohli is the world's No. 1 batsman in both the Test and one-day formats and is just 81 runs short of becoming the fastest to reach 10,000 ODI runs. The record currently stands in the name of the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, who took 259 innings to get there, while Kohli has so far played 204 innings. "...I have seen all the great players that have played the game in the past 12 years. They have their own strong points. But I haven't seen anyone that has dominated as much as Virat has," Iqbal said.
Iqbal garnered much appreciation during the Asia Cup last month when he came out to bat against Sri Lanka with a fractured wrist. He said it was a matter of pride for him.
"I thought facing one delivery could have helped Bangladesh get 5-10 extra runs in that game. And we ended up getting 32 runs because of Mushfiqur's brilliance," he said.
Meanwhile, West Indies skipper Jason Holder demanded discipline from his bowlers in the remaining four ODIs of the five-match series against India, saying picking up wickets upfront would be crucial. West Indies notched up what seemed a stiff 323-run target in the series opener, but India made short work of the chase and reached the target with almost eight overs to spare, with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma slamming big hundreds. "In limited overs cricket, in these conditions you need to utilise the new ball. This is an area every team targets. We want to take few more wickets with the new ball," Holder said at the pre-match press conference.
