IND vs WI | 'Never seen a spell like that in India', Rohit Sharma praises Prasidh Krishna after second ODI
After India handed a 44-run defeat to West Indies in the second ODI on Wednesday, Rohit Sharma heaped praise on Prasidh Krishna's bowling performance, saying that he has never seen a similar spell in India for a long time. Prasidh scalped four wickets by conceding just 12 runs in his nine overs.
India defeated West Indies by 44 runs in the second ODI on Wednesday in Ahmedabad, and took an unassailable lead of 2-0 in the three-match series. Batting first, Team India suffered early blows as captain Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant walked back to the pavilion without scoring much in the innings. However, Suryakumar Yadav and KL Rahul played knocks of 64 and 49 respectively, and helped India from further collapse in the batting line-up.
The West Indies bowlers displayed brilliant bowling performance against the hosts, and restricted the Rohit Sharma-led side to 237/9. For the visitors, Alzarri Joseph and Odean Smith scalped two wickets each. In reply, India continued their exuberant bowling performance from the first ODI, and scalped wickets at regular intervals. Prasidh Krishna was the pick of the bowlers as he scalped four wickets by conceding just 12 runs during his nine-over spell. The speedster's four-wicket haul helped India to bundle out West Indies for a paltry total of 194, and the Men in Blue registered their second victory in the three-match series by 44 runs.
Reflecting on the match, captain Rohit Sharma stated that the partnership between Rahul and Suryakumar had a lot of maturity, and it helped India to achieve a decent total in the end. The India white-ball captain hailed Prasidh Krishna for his stellar bowling performance, and stated that he has never seen a similar spell in India for a long time.
"Obviously winning the series is a good feeling. There were some challenges. The partnership between Rahul and Surya had a lot of maturity. We got to a respectable total in the end. We knew we could fight it out. The entire unit came out and bowled superbly. It is important for these guys to bat under pressure and that is how you will judge their character," Rohit told at the post-match presentation.
"We don't mind losing a few games trying out a few things. Because it is important to look at the long-term goals. We will see what works out well for the team combination. I was a little surprised to see no dew. I have never seen a spell like that in India for a long time now. Prasidh bowled with a lot of pace and kept it going. The others complemented him," he added.
In the second ODI, Rishabh Pant opened the innings along with Rohit Sharma despite Rahul's return to the playing XI. Rohit reckoned that Pant opening the innings is not a permanent solution, and Shikhar Dhawan will be back to the playing XI for the third ODI.
"Surya had to take his time and understand what the team wants from him. KL also batted superbly as he is consistently up and down in the order. I have been asked to do different things, so this was different. People will be happy seeing Rishabh open then, but yeah it is not permanent, Shikhar should be back for the next game," said Rohit.
The third ODI between India and West Indies will be played in Ahmedabad on Friday, February 11.