Indian captain Virat Kohli and ODI vice-captain Rohit Sharma are just 27 runs away from achieving another milestone. They can touch 1,000 runs partnership against West Indies and henceforth will become the first pair to do so against the Caribbean team.
In the second fixture of the three-match ODI series, the pair surpassed Sachin Tendulkar-Virender Sehwag for the number of half-century partnerships in ODIs. The Kohli-Rohit pair have 32 half-century partnerships to their name. But they are far behind Sourav Ganguly-Sachin Tendulkar duo who have 55 half-century partnerships and are top in the list of Indian cricketers in ODIs.
The currently playing duo who are trending in the news for the wrong reasons in the recent past shared a 74-run stand with each other against Windies in the second ODI which helped India to get back in the game after an initial setback. Indian opener Shikhar Dhawan was trapped in front of the middle stump by a Sheldon Cottrell delivery in the first over of the match. Kohli and Sharma took responsibility and steadied the ship.
The 30-year-old cricketer went onto score another magnificent ton taking his century tally to 42. He finished his innings with the scoreboard showing 120 runs off 125 balls to his name. The Indian opener could not last long and got out for 18 runs of 34 balls after laying the foundation for the Indian middle-order to take over and post a respectable total. The Men in Blue finished their 50-overs with the scoreboard showing 279 runs for the loss of seven wickets. Shreyas Iyer also chipped in with a quickfire 71 off 68 balls.
In reply, the West Indian batsmen got bundled out for 210 with Evin Lewis scoring the highest of the lot finishing with 65 off 80 balls. Indian pace spearhead Bhuvneshwar Kumar picked up four wickets while Mohammad Shami and Kuldeep Yadav chipped in picking up two wickets each to take the Indian team home. Team India won the rain-interrupted match and took a 1-0 lead in the ODI series. The final fixture will be played at the Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain on August 14.
The Men in Blue will contest in a two-match Test series against West Indies after the completion of the ODI series. The first Test is scheduled on August 22 and the series will be a part of ICC World Test Championship.
