India vs West Indies, 3rd ODI: 3 reasons why India lost the match

Virat won the toss and elected to field in the third match at Pune. The West Indies top order did not impress once again except for Shai Hope, who continued with his good form. Samuels once again bagged a low score as his unimpressive return to the Carribean national team continued. A lot depended on Hetmyer and Hope and they yet again looked set for a big partnership.

Hetmyer once again dazzled the crowd with some big blows but this time he did not convert the start and was dismissed for 37 by Kuldeep Yadav. Among the returning pace duo of Bhuvaneshwar and Bumrah, the latter proved to be a nightmare for the batsmen while Bhuvi looked a shadow of himself and gave away 70 runs in 10 overs. The Indian bowling lineup’s inability to pick up the lower order wickets hurt India badly once again as Nurse combined with Roach and added some very crucial runs for the Windies in the death overs. Nurse’s cameo took Windies to a respectable total of 283.

Chasing 284, Rohit failed and Dhawan got a good start but failed to convert it. Once again the side depended on Virat Kohli and he was outstanding as usual. He got some support from Rayudu but Mccoy dismissed Rayudu before their partnership could trouble West Indies. Pant’s innings was entertaining while it lasted while Dhoni disappointed everyone with yet another single digit score. Kohli scored his third consecutive century and looked set to finish the game but Samuels castled him and ended India’s hopes of winning the match.

Here are the 3 reasons for India’s loss:

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#1 Inability to pick lower order wickets

The inability of the Indian bowler’s to pick lower order wickets has always been questioned and this habit once again proved to be the difference between the two teams. By the end of 40 overs, Windies were reeling at 211/6 and since India played a 5-man bowling attack, many expected Windies to score below 250. Shai Hope was dismissed by Chahal and the target looked set to be even lower than 250.

But Ashley Nurse combined with Roach and played a very vital knock that gave momentum to Windies while going into the innings break. What was surprising was Nurse’s assault of Bhuvaneshwar Kumar in the 49th over, who is one of the best death bowlers in the world. He went for 21 runs.

Bumrah was impressive but India needed another bowler to step up which did not happen as Windies raced away to a match-winning total.

#2 India’s middle-order troubles

Both the cricket experts and fans wanted India’s middle order to be tested before the World Cup and the opportunity was ripe today. Rohit Sharma was dismissed early and Dhawan was dismissed by Nurse after a well made 35. There was ample time for the middle order batsmen to get set and finish the innings. This was Rayudu’s golden chance to score big and cement his place in the team but he failed to utilize the opportunity. MSD has been out of form for some time now and he would have surely liked to send a message to the selectors after getting dropped from the T20 squad.

Unlike his last few innings, he rotated the strike right from ball one but was dismissed for 7 after getting an outside edge while trying to guide the ball to the third man. Pant played an entertaining knock but the situation demanded patience and rotation of strike. His penchant for adventurous shots proved detrimental to India’s hopes of winning the match as he was dismissed while trying to sweep the ball from outside the off stump.

India need to sort their middle order problems before the tournament next year, else it could prove detrimental to their chances.

#3 Over-dependency on Virat Kohli

Kohli is the greatest asset a cricketing team can have in the world and India is blessed to have such a consistent performer. But even for him, it is impossible to win matches when almost everyone fails. Once he got to his century, all he needed was someone to rotate the strike from the other end and that did not happen in the last 20 overs. His decision to go with 5 bowlers also did not work and it resulted in a long tail. The time has come for the Indian bowlers to contribute something with the bat as most modern cricketing teams have players who can bat right until No.9.

Bhuvaneshwar Kumar, who is a decent batsman on his day looked in good touch but threw away his wicket by going for a big shot on the offside and holed out to the fielder in the deep. Cricket is a team game and a lone warrior can’t win every match. Every batsman in this team must take some responsibility and support him if India has to beat top-tier teams such as England and South Africa consistently.