India’s twin sweeps at 3-0 each against the West Indies in the ODI series and the subsequent Twenty20I clashes augur well. Under Rohit Sharma, the host’s white-ball cricket proved far too superior to the men from the Caribbean. Scores were astutely defended, targets were successfully chased as India weaved a winning arc stretching from Ahmedabad’s massive Narendra Modi Stadium to Kolkata’s hallowed Eden Gardens. It was a welcome balm for a unit that was smarting under the defeats suffered in the previous South Africa tour in which both the Test and ODI series were lost. Those overseas setbacks, Virat Kohli’s resignation from Test captaincy and the inevitable distraction of the recent Indian Premier League’s mega-auction, were all pushed to the back-burner as Rohit’s men prevailed over Kieron Pollard’s troops. The results may be about the here and now but they do have a larger consequence as this is also an exercise to build sharp limited-overs squads for the ICC Twenty20 World Cup scheduled in Australia during October and November and the ICC World Cup to be held in India next year. For all its consistency in cricket across formats, India last won its significant ICC silverware through the 2013 Champions Trophy in England and it remains a sobering fact. Rohit now has the unenviable task of replicating the title-winning template that M.S. Dhoni specialised in.
From the ODIs in Ahmedabad to the Twenty20Is in Kolkata, India found diverse heroes. Speedster Prasidh Krishna, who was named the player of the series in the ODI leg, caught the eye with his nine wickets. And in batting, Suryakumar Yadav topped India’s run-chart with an aggregate of 104. Even without injured all-rounders Ravindra Jadeja and Hardik Pandya, the host got its poise right as Rishabh Pant lent balance. Shreyas Iyer struck an 80 in the lone ODI he played and the new middle-order, revolving around Kohli, found its feet. In the Twenty20Is, India built on the confidence gleaned from the ODI series win. Suryakumar prospered while rookies like Venkatesh Iyer and Ishan Kishan had their moments. Seamer Harshal Patel found his mark and India’s pace arsenal found another arrow. India ticked most of the boxes, even if the opposition, despite the odd flicker, offered no challenge. Going through a transition, the West Indies is building afresh under veteran Pollard. Batter Nicholas Pooran offered sustenance while a few others showed the odd spark, but that was not enough. In 1983 after losing the World Cup to Kapil Dev’s men, Clive Lloyd’s men landed in India seeking vengeance. The Test series was won 3-0 and the ODIs at 5-0. That West Indian swagger remains a distant memory while India aims to carve its own distinct winning quotient.
