"And they wanted to replace Kohli with testooda"- Fans slam Samson, Hooda as India fail to reach 350 despite good start vs WI
India managed to score just 103 runs in their last 17 overs against West Indies in the first ODI on July 22. They lost six wickets as the West Indies restricted the visitors to 308/7 in the first innings.
Shikhar Dhawan, Shubman Gill, and Shreyas Iyer all crossed their fifties and at 213/1, it looked like the Men in Blue would easily breach the 350-run mark.
However, India's new-look middle-order of Suryakumar Yadav, Sanju Samson, and Deepak Hooda weren't able to score quickly enough. Even the likes of Axar Patel and Shardul Thakur didn't contribute much with the bat.
The ball had also gone a bit soft and the West Indies bowlers adjusted their line and length well to restrict the flow of runs at the death.
Fans on Twitter were disappointed with the rate at which India batted in a phase where they really had to accelerate. Some fans trolled those who wanted Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda in the side as both batters failed to live up to their billing. Samson scored 12 off 18 balls, while Hooda scored 27 off 32.
Here are some of the reactions:
Shikhar Dhawan's 97 put India in command
Stand-in Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan scored just 41 runs in the three-match ODI series in England earlier this month. He was under a bit of pressure coming into this game. However, Shubman Gill at the other end got off to a flying start and gave his captain a bit of breathing space to settle at the crease.
After a point, both openers got to their half-centuries and runs began to flow from both ends. Gill's laziness probably cost him a debut ODI hundred as he was run out by Nicholas Pooran on what should have been an easy single.
Shreyas Iyer walked out to bat at No. 3 and took a bit of time initially to get going.
Dhawan continued on his merry way and it looked like he was coasting to yet another ODI hundred. However, an incredible catch at point ended his innings on 97.
Iyer also soon departed after reaching his fifty and suddenly there were two new batters at the crease. The pitch seemed to be holding up a bit due to which strokemaking wasn't easy for new batters.
Suryakumar Yadav perished for 13 (14) in a bid to up the ante. Sanju Samson and Deepak Hooda were both making their ODI comebacks and this was probably the perfect situation for them to show their natural intent.
However, they just couldn't get going and the hosts will take a bit of momentum with them going into the chase of 309.