India V West Indies Live and Preview 2nd ODI: Hosts Need Strong Batting Performance

India play West Indies in the second of the five matches to be played this series. The game will be played at Vizag on Friday, December 2.

You can watch the India-West Indies 2^nd ODI live on BCCI.tv.

With a 1-0 lead under their belt, one would have thought that the Indians will be favourites to defeat West Indies – especially after they had had the better of their opposition in the Test series by a 2-0 margin. However, the manner in which the first ODI went, could just be the sign of things to come – the games should be tough and India will need to fight hard to come home winners.

The Cuttack track was expected to be a belter according to the curator but when the Indians struggled to chase down 212 they needed for a win, it looked like the sign of things to come. The change of the Powerplay rule and the bringing in of the two new balls has generally reduced the scores in the 50 overs and one can expect it to be another 225-250-run pitch at Vizag.

India should go into the match with the same batting line-up – after all, they did win the game in the end. However, time will be running out on Parthiv Patel at the top of the innings. While his keeping still allows him to back MS Dhoni in the side, it is his batting that could be an issue. Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, on the other hand, will like to take a leaf off Rohit Sharma’s book as they search for some vital runs in the middle of the Indian innings.

West Indies would have known by now that the tracks will take turn and will generally be difficult to bat on in the middle. Which is why it is a surprise that they did not play Sunil Narine in the first game. They will look to get him into the 11 in place of Anthony Martin, who did not look too effective.

India still favourites but will do well to get their batting house in order.