Everyone was taken by surprise when Rishabh Pant walked out to open the batting for India with Rohit Sharma in the second ODI against West Indies at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.
The move didn’t work out as expected with both Rohit and Rishabh were back in the dressing room cheaply but India did manage to win the second game by 44 runs and pocketed the series 2-0 with a game in hand. The third ODI is on February 11.
India made only one change in the playing XI from the previous game with KL Rahul replacing Ishan Kishan and everyone presumed the Indian vice-captain to open the innings with Rohit. But it was Pant who came instead. Rohit revealed the idea to send Pant as an opener was an ‘experiment’.
“I have been asked to try different things, so that was something different (on Pant opening). We wanted to try it one game and is not a permanent thing. Shikhar should be back for the next game,” said Rohit after India’s win on Wednesday.
“We don’t mind losing a few games while trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long-term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination (for the final ODI),” added Rohit, who won his first ODI series as India’s full-time captain.
Sent into bat first, India were tottering at 43/3 at one stage before KL Rahul (49 off 48) and Suryakumar Yadav (64 off 83) stitched 91 runs for the fourth wicket to take India out of hot water. Small contributions from Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar helped India post a fighting 237/9.
In reply, Prasidh Krishna’s 4/12 from nine overs helped India bundle out West Indies for 193 to seal the deal. “Obviously winning the series is a good feeling,” said Rohit. “There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity.
“We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out. The entire unit came out and bowled superbly. It is important for these guys to bat under pressure and that is how you will judge their character.
“Surya had to take his time and understand what the team wants from him. KL also batted superbly as he is consistently up and down in the order,” he added
