India suffered an embarrassing six-wicket defeat in the second ODI match against West Indies on Saturday, July 29. Once again, the Indian management tried to test their depth and surprisingly rested star batters Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Hardik Pandya led the team in Rohit's absence but the management's decision to rotate players backfired quickly.
The Men in Blue were bowled out on just 181 runs while batting first at Bridgetown's Kensington Oval. India lost all ten wickets while scoring the last of their 91 runs. Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill provided a steady start but the team witnessed a disappointing collapse against a team which is not even participating in the upcoming ICC ODI World Cup 2023.
After the game, Hardik revealed that the team was not expecting the collapse and added that the pitch was better than the first game for the batters.
"We didn't bat the way we were supposed to. The wicket was better than it was in the first game. Everyone barring Shubman hit fielders and got out. Disappointing but many things to learn. The way our openers batted, especially Ishan, struck it well and is good for India. Shardul got us back in with his bowling. Hope and Carty batted well and got them through," Hardik Pandya said during a post-match presentation.
Hardik bowled 40 deliveries but was not able to get a single wicket in the second game. He also struggled with a ball in the Indian Premier League 2023 with just three wickets in 11 innings. The management is clearly expecting more overs and improved bowling from the pace all-rounder as he started with a new ball in both games in this series.
The 29-year-old all-rounder accepted that he needs to bowl more to manage his workload before the ICC World Cup at home. "Body's fine. I have to bowl more overs and get my workload up for the World Cup. I'm a turtle right now not the rabbit and hoping everything goes right as the World Cup comes on. To be honest, you want to be going 1-1 to the third game as it'll be more challenging and exciting," Hardik added.
