 India will play West Indies in the second ODI of the four match series
at Jamaica on Sunday, after winning the first game in a high scoring thriller.
Yuvraj Singh's inning of 131 saw him win the man-of-the-match and that went a
long way in helping India get to a total of 339 in their fifty overs.
Going into the second game, the Indians will realise that it will be foolhardy
to take their opponents lightly despite being 1-0 up. The last time around India
was in the Caribbean to play in an ODI series, they had won the first game and
then, went on to lose the remaining four; to go down 1-4 in the series. That,
coupled with the fact that West Indies made a target of 339 look fairly simple
despite losing Chris Gayle relatively early must make India ponder over
their bowling attack.
The Indian batting did fairly well, though there must be a worry about Gautam Gambhir and Rohit Sharma's inability to handle the short deliveries as was
evidenced in both, the ICC World T20 and the first game of the series. Both
the batsmen were out pulling a short delivery from the West Indian bowlers,
and this short stuff will continue in the second game as well.
However, the other batsmen did a decent job, and Dinesh Karthik will
be especially pleased with his batting effort in the comeback game. What was
surprising and needs to be changed for the second game is Dhoni's reluctance
for giving up his gloves despite managing a chunk of the team's responsibilities;
batting, leading and wicket-keeping. With Karthik around in the team, the second
ODI could just see a shift in that regard.
The Indian bowling wasn't very incisive, but one player who would be particularly
pleased with his effort would be Ashish Nehra. Nehra is playing in his
first international after four years and delivered with three wickets.
For the West Indies, the issue was with the conceding of so many runs despite
having a slow outfield in Kingston. Lionel Baker did not have a great game,
but Gayle may want to continue with him for another game. The other big worry
would be with the bowling of the more experienced, Jerome Taylor, who
went for 74 runs in his ten overs, after he had been hit around during the ICC
World T20 as well. West Indies would look at his bowling closely, but in the
absence of Fidel Edwards, may not want to go into the crucial second match without
the experience of Taylor.
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