Virat Kohli would have loved to play the 2nd ODI vs West Indies on Saturday but he agreed to the Indian management’s call to rest him. Rahul Dravid, India head coach, revealed that they rested Kohli and skipper Rohit Sharma to give chance to less-experienced and young players a go in the match. The decision may have backfired but Dravid stressed on the point of being ready with backup players ahead of the all-important ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. The coach said that playing Rohit and Virat would not have ‘given us answers’. It is quite clear that India are seeing the bilateral series as a chance to experiment a little.
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Coming back to Kohli, he was a bundle of emotions as he watched the game from the dressin room. On one occasion, he frustration was quite visible on his face. Kohli shook his head and covered his face with his hand to show his disappointment as cameras captures the moment. He must have felt helpless having not taken the field in this game. However, the former India captain ensured he was contributing towards team by becoming ‘Water Boy’ in the match.
Yuzvendra Chahal was the 12th match in the match. Usually, the 12th man is the person who carries the drinks on the field. But in 2nd ODI, Chahal was accompanied by Kohli too. FanCode, livestreaming partner for the IND vs WI series, shared the vide of Chahal and Kohli carrying the drink for the Indian players during the break.
Watch Kohli, the Water Boy, carrying the drinks to the field, during the 2nd ODI vs West Indies:
1 hi to __ hai, kitne baar jeetoge? King Kohli turns water boy!
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.#INDvWIAdFreeonFanCode #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/CYE2uvNAC2
— FanCode (@FanCode) July 29, 2023
Talking about the match, it was a disappointing game for India. Hardik Pandya and Co failed collectively, which gave even a low-on-confidence West Indies outfit the scope to pack a punch. India batters barely showed up in office as apart from Ishan Kishan (55 runs off same number of balls) and Shubman Gill (34), no one batted well. Sanju Samson, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya all failed to perform. The fans were shocked to see Axar Patel promoted to No 4, the position that Virat bats on. But Axar could not bat well too.
India got bowled out for just 181 inside 50 overs. Later, Shai Hope’s fifty and brilliant innings of Keacy Carty helped Windies chase down the target in just 36.4 overs. The third ODI of this series, which will act a decider, will be played on August 1 at the Brian Lara stadium in Trinidad.