Former Indian opener Abhinav Mukund urged the team management to play Mohammed Siraj in the second ODI against the West Indies. Siraj was not given his opportunity in the playing XI in the opening game of the series as India preferred Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir ahead of him.
Thus, India played with three specialist bowlers and had Ravindra Jadeja, Reddy and Dhir as all-rounders. The strategy nearly backfired as the West Indies were looking all set to post more than 350 runs on the board.
However, Kuldeep Yadav, who returned with impressive figures of 4-40, was able to put the pressure on the visitors in the middle overs.
Abhinav Mukund said on his Instagram handle, “India should try out a few more combinations. They should try and see if they can play with six batters and five specialist bowlers. They should see if that is a possibility and tinker around their combination a little bit. Maybe play Siraj in the next game and give another bowler a break.”
On the other hand, Mukund showered praise on Virat Kohli, who scored a splendid knock of 139 runs off just 88 balls in the run chase of 296. The former Tamil Nadu batter said Kohli was at the peak of his powers.
“It was a privilege to watch him score 139 in a 296-run chase and complete 15,000 runs in the bargain. Kohli was at the peak of his powers. Lots of sixes in the innings and an absolute masterclass. He now averages over 90 in successful ODI run-chases. India looked great, and his 139 was the icing on the cake,” said Mukund (via the aforementioned source).
Kohli also joined Sachin Tendulkar as the only second batter in the 15000 ODI runs club during the course of his innings.
The second ODI between India and the West Indies will be played at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati, on Wednesday.
