Windies need second wind

Visakhapatnam, October 23 

Their batting in red hot form, hosts India will look to extend their dominance over West Indies and take a 2-0 lead in the five-match series when the two sides lock horns in the second ODI here on Wednesday.

India won the first ODI in Guwahati with ridiculous ease despite the visitors posting a huge 322/8, thanks to Shimron Hetmyer’s swashbuckling century. Rohit Sharma (151 not out) and Virat Kohli (140) helped the hosts gun down the target with 47 balls to spare, smashing a few records in the process.

If Kohli adds another 81 runs to his already peerless tally, he will become the fastest batsman to 10,000 runs in this format, surpassing the legendary Sachin Tendulkar. Tendulkar took 259 innings to reach the landmark, while Kohli is standing on the threshold of the feat in just 204 innings!

Chance for bowlers to make amends 

On a flat deck in Guwahati, the Indian bowlers did not fare well but the stunning 246-run stand between Kohli and Sharma more than made up for their failure. Besides, a beleaguered MS Dhoni will look to get some runs. However, with the West Indian attack lacking teeth and the Indian top-order in red hot form, Dhoni is unlikely to get much time in front of the stumps. India could draft in chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav, who did not play in the opening game, replacing rookie left-arm seamer Khaleel Ahmed, who looked out of sorts against Hetmyer.

For the visitors, the seasoned Marlon Samuels will be the key. He perished cheaply in the first ODI, hence he would be keen to make up for that failure. Pace spearhead Kemar Roach is also back after missing the Test series due to the death of his grandmother, but he couldn’t make an impression in the first ODI. 

All said and done, West Indies will need to put in a huge effort to give India a run for their money. — IANS

Milestone man

Virat Kohli needs just 81 runs to become the fastest to 10,000 ODI runs. Currently, he has 9,919 from 204  innings. Sachin Tendulkar did it in 259 innings, the record until now

Fastest to 10,000 

 S Tendulkar 259 Innings 

 S Ganguly 263 

 R Ponting 266 

 J Kallis 272 

 MS Dhoni 273 

 B Lara 278