If the second ODI against West Indies had fans wanting anything, then it was a big sweep victory in the final installment. Fingers were pointed at Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma for taking a day off. Rahul Dravid was confident of getting some answers in that defeat. Come August 01, 2023; youngsters proved why they needed the space for themselves.
India beat the Indies side by 200 runs in the third ODI of the series, clinching the same by 2-1. This marks the biggest away victory for them on West Indies soil. Also, Ishan Kishan and Shubham Gill registered an opening partnership of 143. This has surpassed the previous record of 132 that was set up by Shikhar Dhawan and Ajinkya Rahane in 2017 against the same opponent.
Interestingly, Ishan Kishan bagged the title of Player of the Series and Shubham Gill the title of Player of the Match. Shubham Gill scored 85 runs off 92 balls. While the economy of 92.39 is slightly on the lower side, the fact cannot be ignored that this is the same innings that helped Kishan strike an attack. Following that, it was Snaju Samson who put up a brave total of 51 runs off 41 balls. Simply put, Gill played a crucial supportive role at a time when his batting partners needed that.
Ishan Kishan takes home the title for his total contribution of 184 runs throughout the ODI series. The maximum number of runs came in the final ODI, which was 77. The first and second ODIs saw the left-handed batter contribute 52 and 55 runs, respectively. His overall ODI scoreboard now stands at 694 runs for innings of 16 at an average of 46.27.
The debate around who would bat at number 4 continues. Sanju Samson has attempted to cement that he is the right candidate if Shreyas Iyer is unavailable. The question now is, will that be permanent, or will there be a shift in the line-up by pushing Suryakumar Yadav further down?
The India skipper remained unbeaten to make sure that the team reached the estimated score of 350+. Pandya can turn any match around. Hence, the previous loss came as a setback to many. Nevertheless, his 70 runs off 52 balls helped his men reach the peak of the innings.
One factor that helped India a lot at Brian Lara Cricket Academy was wickets not falling consistently. Batters felt comfortable at the pitch to the extent that Samson stepped out of the crease to hit some big shots. This happened against the Indies’ spin more often. Shots were risky, but his ability to read the throw came in handy. This was also one of the reasons why the best cricket betting sites showed an inclined favorability toward India despite West Indies winning the toss.
Shardul Thakur claimed 4 victims in just 6.3 overs for 37 runs at 5.69. He was followed by Mukesh Kumar, who delivered his spell for 7 overs, including 1 maiden, claiming 3 wickets, including the skipper, Shai Hope.
