India 181 (Kishan 55, Motie 3-36, Shepherd 3-37, Joseph 2-35) was defeated by West Indies 182 for 4 (Hope 63*, Carty 48*, Thakur 3-42) by six wickets.
After nine straight losses, West Indies defeated India in an ODI for the first time since December 2019 with a six-wicket victory in the second of three games. After losing the opening ODI on Thursday, the victory allowed West Indies to tie the series at one.
After India, who had rested Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, was bowled out for 181 by Gudakesh Motie, Romario Shepherd, and Alzarri Joseph, the chase was handled by captain Shai Hope and the inexperienced Keacy Carty, and it was finished with more than 13 overs remaining.
Although it was easy for West Indies in the end, there were a few bumps along the way. They went from 53 without loss in the ninth over to 91 for 4 after 17, with Shardul Thakur being the major culprit. India’s expectations must have risen following that, but Hope and Carty made sure everything went according to plan. Hope made 63 unbeaten runs and shared a 91-run fifth-wicket stand with Carty (48 unbeaten).
The ground in Bridgetown provided grip and turn throughout the entire game, with the pace bowlers’ economy rate over two innings being 5.20 compared to the spinners’ 3.89. However, before Thakur dismissed the top three batters in the span of 25 balls to open the game, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja tormented the middle order of the West Indies. Jadeja was fast and flat, while Kuldeep was sluggish while getting more spin.
When they finally came together, Hope and Carty were happy to play singles because Kuldeep had already removed Shimron Hetmyer with a faster pitch that skidded through to hit off stump.
Carty completed the game’s scoring with a series of successive boundaries off Hardik Pandya after taking 65 balls to reach a patient 48. But the fact that West Indies only needed to score 182 was due to a team effort in bowling, a supportive pitch, and inspiring agility from the fielders.
India, who won the toss and was asked to bat, also faltered twice. Before going from a safe 90 for 0 to a risky 113 for 5, and after that, from 146 for 5 to 181 all out. These followed a protracted rain respite. In the absence of Rohit and Kohli, West Indies saw an opening and seized it. It all began in the 17th over when Shubman Gill lofted to long-off for 34 on a full, tossed-up delivery from Motie, his highest score in seven international innings across formats since June.
West Indies gained momentum as a result, and in the 18th over, Alick Athanaze sent Ishan Kishan back for 55 by diving to his right at point. In the series, it was Kishan’s second consecutive half-century. Axar Patel, who had been moved up to No. 4, was confined to a small space with the ball angling in from behind the wicket two overs later when Shepherd got one to lift sharply at him. Axar attempted to take off his gloves, but he still tickled the wicketkeeper.
A shoulder-height bouncer to Hardik saw him pulling straight to midwicket, giving Jayden Seales his lone wicket of the day. Next, Yannic Cariah snared the comeback kid Sanju Samson with turn and bounce. Cariah got the legbreak to leap and move well away from the batter after landing one on a decent length near off stump. The batter edged it to slip.
India was slipping, and suddenly it started to rain heavily. It appeared as though the break had come as a blessing for them when Suryakumar Yadav and Jadeja added 33 to indicate a quick revival following the interruption. However, West Indies once more took charge, taking the final five wickets for just 35 runs.
In the 32nd over, Shepherd sent a short pitch at Jadeja, forcing him to top edge a pull to fine leg. After a fun 24 minutes, Motie had Suryakumar slashing to the point after receiving spin and bounce. Soon after, West Indies produced another outstanding piece of fielding as Carty sprinted in and dove forward from deep square leg to dismiss Umran Malik in the 38th over.
When Motie caught last man Mukesh Kumar in the 41st over, he had finished with 3 for 36. West Indies now have a chance to defeat India in a bilateral ODI series for the first time since May 2006.
