"ICT is taking World Cup as a joke"- Fans erupt after Axar Patel walked out to bat at number 4 in 2nd India vs West Indies ODI

Fans react  Axar Patel walks out to bat at number 4 position on Saturday.
Fans react to Axar Patel batting at number 4 on Saturday

Team India management continued their experiment spree on the West Indies tour as they sent in Axar Patel to bat at number 4 in the 2nd ODI, on Saturday, at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope won the toss and opted to bowl first in this contest after losing the previous match. Shubman Gill (34) and Ishan Kishan (55) gave a decent start to the visiting team with a 90-run opening stand.

Both started off watchfully and then found some momentum and started hitting a few boundaries. Kishan continued with the flow and hit his second consecutive half-century of the series. Gill struggled to rotate the strike after the powerplay and eventually perished in the 17th over, failing to clear long off.

Kishan also followed him to the pavilion soon after. Indian team management then sprung a surprise as Axar Patel walked out at the fall of the second wicket. This, with Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Ravindra Jadeja yet to bat.

The move did not work as Axar could score only one run from eight balls before edging Romario Shepherd's short delivery to the wicket-keeper in the 20th over.

Fans expressed divided opinions to Axar Patel's promotion in the batting order. They were perplexed with the team management's tactics and slammed them for not giving clearly defined roles to the players. Here are some of the Twitter reactions:


Axar Patel and Sanju Samson replaced Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma in Indian playing XI for 2nd ODI vs West Indies

Senior players Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were rested for the second ODI against West Indies as the team management decided to give them a break. Vice-captain Hardik Pandya took over the reins in Rohit's absence for this contest. Speaking after losing the toss, Hardik said:

"Rohit and Virat have been playing constant cricket. So, we thought they might rest for this game and be fresh for the 3rd ODI. We are making sure the opportunities are given to the guys.
"The way we bowled last game was impressive, tremendous bowling effort to get a team out for under 150, but the way we caught some very good catches, that changed the momentum and made sure they didn't get any rhythm."

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