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India vs West Indies: Virat Kohli’s love affair with Vizag a worry for Windies
India skipper Virat Kohli has played four ODI matches in Vizag and has scored 399 runs at an average of 99.75.
If India skipper Virat Kohli’s current form wasn’t a worry for the Windies, his record at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Vizag is nothing short of magical. Kohli has played four ODI matches in Vizag and has scored 399 runs at an average of 99.75. He has scored two centuries and two fifties and has won two Man of the Match awards at the ground.
Kohli on Tuesday further emphasised that he loves coming back to the venue.
It’s a boon that India have arguably the best ODI top order going into the World Cup. The bane is that the middle order would be expected to stand up when the top order fails without much of game time, like in the away ODI series against England where they lost. That’s a reality India would have to live with.
“Obviously it’s great that the top-3 are doing so well for India. It’s a challenge for the middle order to always be ready to get in and bat whenever needed. I am sure everybody are up for it, everybody knows the situation,” Ambati Rayudu, who has been zeroed in for the No.4 spot for the time being, said at the pre-match press conference.
Even leaving aside Kohli, the other two lynchpins Rohit Sharma and Shikhar Dhawan are a big threat in home conditions. Rohit became the only player to have six 150-plus scores in ODIs with a blistering knock in Guwahati.
West Indies captain Jason Holder’s strategy to attack the trio from the start was apt but just that his bowling repertoire did not have enough ammunition to stop all three. So, despite getting the early wicket of Dhawan, the visitors could not put up a fight to defend a total of 322.
Fast bowler Oshane Thomas started brightly with Dhawan’s dismissal, but then was belted for boundaries by Rohit and Kohli. In the second ODI too, stopping the top-3 from firing may be the only way for Windies to breathe life into the series. The wicket looked flat with no hint of grass a day ahead of the match and dew shall be a factor this time of the year.
The last time India played an ODI at the ACA-VDCA Stadium here in December 2017, Yuzvendra Chahal and Kuldeep Yadav wreaked havoc to dismiss Sri Lanka for 215 and India won with ease.
