After dominating the game for almost 90 overs, the West Indies were knocked out by a stunning assault from Axar Patel. The all-rounder’s 35-ball unbeaten 64 came when India needed 100 runs from the last 10 overs. It was a heartbreak for the hosts, who failed to close out the game twice in two matches. Shai Hope had a memorable evening as he became just the 10th player to score a century in his 100th ODI. We look at some stats and key phases from a thrilling cricket match that India won by two wickets.
Misfiring Indian pacers
Barring Mohammed Siraj, who put in back-to-back exceptional performances, the other pacers – debutant Avesh Khan and Shardul Thakur – had mediocre days. They collectively gave away 108 runs from their 13 overs at 8.3 RPO.
Their start was worse, with Khan conceding 36 runs from his three overs. Thakur, who replaced Khan in the attack, ended up conceding 14 and didn’t bowl again till the 37th over. A major reason behind their early thrashing was their bowling length.
Of the 24 balls they bowled in their combined opening spell, 13 were in the full-length area and Kyle Mayers took them to the cleaners. A pitch that was on the slower side with no help from the surface, their length and pace on the ball were an ideal recipe for Mayers to attack.
Mayers’ weakness against off-spinners
West Indies were motoring along nicely in the first Powerplay, scoring 65 runs from nine overs without losing a wicket. The biggest reason was Mayers’ attacking intent against Indian pacers as he scored 39 runs off just 22 balls. Before he could cause further damage, Shikhar Dhawan brought Deepak Hooda into the attack – India’s only off-spinning option.
Mayers’ returns against off-spinners are pretty ordinary. Before this game, he had scored just 54 runs from 122 balls against the bowling type, being dismissed five times. His average was just 10.8 and his strike rate was a paltry 44.3.
Hooda came on to bowl the 10th over of the innings with Mayers on strike. Mayers’ couldn’t have hoped for anything worse as he chipped his first ball straight back to Hooda for an easy catch. India might try opening the bowling with Hooda in the 3rd ODI to exploit Mayers’ glaring weakness against the bowling type.
Dhawan’s struggle against ‘good’ balls
Dhawan was the Player of the Match in the 1st ODI, but his 97-run inning was far from fluent. He was helped a lot by the West Indian bowlers who erred by bowling either too full or too short. But they did their homework before the 2nd ODI.
Apart from some initial full balls, Dhawan mostly faced balls that were pitched in the good-length area. There is a reason behind this ploy. Dhawan’s strike rate against full-pitched balls in this series is 154 and against short-pitched balls, it is 136. However, against good-length balls, he strikes at just 49 runs per 100 balls (stats courtesy – cricket.com).
Dhawan eventually fell to a short-pitched ball, but it was right after being stuck on the head, which made him dizzy. His 13-run inning came at a strike rate of 41.93 – a result of disciplined bowling from the West Indies pacers.
India have taken an unassailable 2-0 lead in the ODI series, but West Indies made them earn both their victories. However, the hosts will be disappointed not to finish both games, especially the 2nd ODI. They will need to take control of the key moments when they come back for the 3rd match on 27th July.