28 June,2019 05:58 AM IST | | Santosh Suri
India skipper Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni during their 40-run stand v West Indies yesterday. Pic/Bipin Patel
Manchester: For the second successive time, the Indian batsmen failed to dominate the bowling as they would have liked to and just about managed a par-score of 268 for seven against the West Indies at Old Trafford here yesterday.
Of course, India were very early in the innings affected by a debatable decision from third umpire in adjudicating Rohit Sharma caught behind on DRS. Rohit was just about getting into the grove and his demise set the team back. Moreover, Vijay Shankar and Kedar Jadhav failed to get going and that put a lot of pressure on skipper Virat Kohli.
The Indian captain got another half-century but could not convert it into an elusive century, falling to a tame pull shot off his counterpart Jason Holder after playing a brilliant on-drive the previous ball.
It was left to Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who was reprieved by wicketkeeper Shai Hope when on eight and Hardik Pandya to prop up the total, with Pandya scoring at more than run-a-ball, while Dhoni holding up the other end in his own imitable style, running ones and twos interspersed by a boundary. He struck two sixes and a four in the final over to complete a well-compiled unbeaten half-century.
The onus once again fell on the Indian bowlers to try and dislodge the West Indies batting on a slow pitch on which free-flowing strokeplay was not easy. There is no doubt that India have been greatly affect by the unavailability of Shikhar Dhawan. Though KL Rahul has been batting well enough as the replacement opener, he has not able to produce a big one. Just when he seems set, he finds ways to get out. Of course, it was a good ball from Holder that got rid of him this time.
Also read: India hammer West Indies, remain unbeaten in World Cup 2019
Kohli seemed set to break his century drought in this World Cup. The India captain, who during his innings, became the fastest player to 20,000 international runs, batted with authority and kept the momentum even when he kept losing partners at the other end. However, it's not for the first time in the tournament that he got out at a critical time.
Also read: World Cup 2019: Rishabh Pant's presence can put Vijay Shankar under pressure
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