Indian team won the highly controversial ODI series against the West Indies 2-1 as MS Dhoni gets his side into ideal preparation for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup next year.
Indian team won the highly controversial ODI series against the West Indies 2-1 as MS Dhoni gets his side into ideal preparation for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup next year.
After a disappointing loss in the first game, the Indian side bounced back in the next two games and claim the series that was marred with controversies and player pull-outs from the West Indies’ management.
But even as India won the 2nd and the fourth ODIs comprehensively, there were some good and bad moments for the Men In Blue. So were the HEROES and the ZEROES for Dhoni’s young turks? Here are the picks:
Heroes –
Virat Kohli
A damper in the first ODI, Virat Kohli bounced back in the series with a classical century at Dharamsala to announce himself on the world stage. The Delhi-born marked his 20th ODI ton in style by cracking a brilliant match winning 120 to consolidate India’s position in the game. Moreover, Kohli was also amongst the runs in the 2nd ODI scoring a fighting 63 and thus can be said, Virat is back in form!
Suresh Raina
Another match-winner in the Indian team is southpaw Suresh Raina who has carried on the brilliant form from the England series into the West Indies’ ODI series. Two half-centuries in the series is a great going for Raina with the World Cup in mind where the latter’s presence would be of great importance especially on those bouncy Aussie tracks!
Mohammad Shami
With 10 wickets in the series (3 games), Mohammad Shami emerged India’s best bowler in the line-up with the best 4/36 coming in the second ODI at the Kotla. With the Indian pacers underperforming at England, much of the debate was that who will lead the line in Australia especially in the World Cup? But Mohammad Shami has stepped up the plate and could be India’s answer in the death overs.
Zeroes –
Bhuvneshwar Kumar
Inspite of having the best economical figures, Bhuvneshwar Kumar was not amongst the wickets tally with only 2 scalps to his name. Some former cricketers have cited that MS Dhoni has overplayed the young bowler and that may the sole reason why ‘Bhuvi’ is troubling the opposition batsmen.
Shikhar Dhawan
Delhi opener Shikhar Dhawan came into this series with a bag of mixed performances this year. Despite a ton on England shores, Dhawan had to settle for a fifty in the 1st ODI but soon, fell to the Windies bowlers quite early in the game. Dhawan needs to up the ante if the southpaw has to strike a balance in the ODI series come next year.
Ravindra Jadeja
The Indian selectors rested Ravi Ashwin for the series and in turn gave a chance to the likes of Amit Mishra, Akshar Patel and the benched, Kuldeep Yadav. But even with a bag of experience behind him, Ravindra Jadeja was not India’s best spinner this series. Even with the turning tracks and conditions suited for spinners, ‘Jaddu’ couldn’t enforce the danger on the likes of Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Smith who hammered him all round the park.
