Former Indian batter Abhinav Mukund urged the Men in Blue to play veteran pacer Mohammed Siraj in the second ODI against the West Indies on September 30. Mukund also advised Shubman Gill’s side to play five specialist bowlers, with the 2027 ODI World Cup exactly a year away.
In the series opener, India played four specialist bowlers, including all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja, and the part-time options of Nitish Kumar Reddy and Naman Dhir. The ploy nearly backfired as the West Indies dominated the first 30 overs in their batting innings, reaching 176/1.
However, Kuldeep Yadav saved India from disaster with a magical spell of 4/40 in 10 overs, helping restrict the West Indies to 295 in 50 overs. The hosts ran down the target in 41.4 overs with eight wickets in hand.
Talking about India’s combination for the second ODI, 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.”
With Siraj sitting out the first ODI, Prasidh Krishna and Gurnoor Brar were the two frontline pacers. The duo were inconsistent, finishing with combined figures of 2/120 in 20 overs.
“Kohli was at the peak of his powers” – Abhinav Mukund
Abhinav Mukund praised Virat Kohli for his stunning century in the series opener against the West Indies. The 37-year-old demolished the West Indian attack, reaching his 55th ODI century and finishing unbeaten on 139 off 88 deliveries.
Kohli also joined Sachin Tendulkar as the only two batters to reach 15,000 ODI runs during his match-winning knock.
“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’s incredible knock included 10 boundaries and nine maximums as he helped India take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-three series.
Edited by Venkatesh Ravichandran
