Virat steps up in style

Port of Spain, August 12

India skipper Virat Kohli said it was his turn to step up and take responsibility after the fall of early wickets in the second ODI against West Indies, which the visitors won riding on his 42nd hundred in the format. The 30-year-old took command of the proceedings after the early fall of openers Shikhar Dhawan (2) and Rohit Sharma (18) and smashed 120 off 125 balls to help India post 279/7 in the rain-curtailed game. India won by 59 runs via the D/L method. 

“We knew that anything over 270 would be challenging. It feels good to get a hundred when the team wanted me to get one,” Kohli said after the win which gave the tourists a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. “Shikhar and Rohit didn’t get a big one. One of the top-three has always got the big one. A senior man had to step up and today was my opportunity to step up. It was important to string in a lot of dot balls,” he added.

Kohli said it was a good toss to win as the wicket became difficult in the second innings. “Good outing with the bat. Exactly why we wanted to bat first. If you saw the later half of the West Indies innings, it was difficult to bat on. I think the rain in between helped them else it would have been tough to bat in the middle,” he said. “The batting became a little easy thanks to the rain when Shimron Hetymer and Nicholas Pooran were batting together. It was tough gripping the ball when it went into the outfield. It was about staying in there and hoping one wicket will put pressure on them and luckily we got the wickets,” he added.

Kohli said the number of left-handers in the West Indies team prompted him to play Kuldeep Yadav in place of Yuzvendra Chahal. “He is more lethal against the left handers because of his variations and the lines that he bowls to them,” he said.

Slide

West Indies captain Jason Holder said losing the last six wickets for just 62 runs cost his side the match. West Indies were comfortably placed at 148/4 after the 27th over before they lost wickets in quick succession to be bundled out for 210 in the 42nd over. “Extremely disappointing. We bowled really well and the game was in our hands. We lost crucial wickets at the back end to lose the game. We need to take responsibility. We need to take the game deep,” Holder said. — PTI

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SCOREBOARD

India

Runs Balls 4s 6s

S Dhawan lbw b Cottrell 2 3 0 0

R Sharma c Pooran b Chase 18 34 2 0

V Kohli c Roach b Brathwaite 120 125 1 1

R Pant b Brathwaite 20 35 2 0

S Iyer b Holder 71 68 5 1

K Jadhav run out 16 14 2 0

R Jadeja not out 16 16 1 0

B Kumar c Roach b Brathwaite 1 2 0 0

Mohammed Shami not out 3 5 0 0

Extras: (b-1, nb-2, w-9) 12 

Total: (7 wickets; 50 overs) 279

FOW: 1-2, 2-76, 3-101, 4-226, 5-250, 6-258, 7-262     

Bowling O M R W

Sheldon Cottrell 10 0 49 1

Kemar Roach 7 0 54 0

Jason Holder 9 0 53 1

Oshane Thomas 4 0 32 0

Roston Chase 10 1 37 1

Carlos Brathwaite 10 0 53 3

West Indies

Runs Balls 4s 6s

C Gayle lbw b Kumar 11 24 1 0

E Lewis c Kohli b Yadav 65 80 8 1

S Hope b Ahmed 5 10 0 0

S Hetmyer c Kohli b Yadav 18 20 2 0

N Pooran c Kohli b Kumar 42 52 4 1

R Chase c & b Kumar 18 23 0 0

J Holder not out 13 19 0 0

C Brathwaite c Shami b Jadeja 0 3 0 0

K Roach b Kumar 0 3 0 0

S Cottrell c Jadeja b Shami 17 18 2 1

O Thomas lbw b Shami 0 1 0 0

Extras: (b 4, lb 5, nb 1, w 11) 21 

Total: (all out; 42 overs) 210

FOW: 1-45, 2-52, 3-92, 4-148, 5-179, 6-179, 7-180, 

8-182, 9-209     

Bowling O M R W

Bhuvneshwar Kumar 8 0 31 4

Mohammed Shami 8 0 39 2

Khaleel Ahmed 7 0 32 1

Kuldeep Yadav 10 0 59 2

Kedar Jadhav 5 0 25 0

Ravindra Jadeja 4 0 15 1

Man of the Match: Virat Kohli

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Dancing king

Virat Kohli doesn’t want captaincy to come in the way of enjoying his cricket and the India skipper says that’s the reason why he can be often seen shaking a leg on field of play to any sound of music in the vicinity. Kohli was recently seen dancing to Caribbean tunes, along with Chris Gayle and a groundsman, during the rain break in the first ODI against the West Indies. “I am in a good headspace so whenever I hear music, I feel like dancing,” Kohli told Yuzvendra Chahal after the second ODI in a video posted by BCCI’s website. “I just want to enjoy myself on the field. Doesn’t matter if I am the captain or not, I don’t want to get into a typical mould that I have to stand in a particular manner. God has given us such a wonderful life and opportunity to play for the country, so I think it is important to enjoy these small moments.”   

Iyer better for No. 4 spot, should get permanent slot in ODIs: Gavaskar

New Delhi: Former skipper Sunil Gavaskar believes Shreyas Iyer is better suited for the No. 4 spot in ODIs than Rishabh Pant and should be given a permanent slot in the Indian middle-order. “In my view, Rishabh Pant is much better like an MS Dhoni at 5 or 6 as a finisher because that’s where his natural game and natural flair will come into play,” Gavaskar said. “If India get to a great start with Virat Kohli, Shikhar Dhawan and Rohit Sharma batting for 40-45 overs, then Pant at No. 4. But if it’s a question of batting for 30-35 overs, then I think it should be Shreyas Iyer at No. 4 and Pant at No. 5.” Iyer was in good form during the Indian Premier League but he was ignored for the World Cup and Gavaskar believes the youngster should now get a longer run in ODI cricket. “I think, if this doesn’t help him get a more permanent slot in the Indian middle-order, I don’t know what will,” Gavaskar said. pti