Rohit Sharma began his full-time stint as the white-ball captain with a series win as India won the second ODI by 44 runs to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match ODI series against West Indies.
Chasing 238 on a spicy pitch, the Windies faltered their way to 76/5, losing Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran in the process. A partnership ensued between Shamarh Brooks and Akeal Hosein which kept the visitors in the hunt.
Brooks fell with 121 runs to go but Hosein then teamed up with Fabian Allen to put on another partnership. Mohammed Siraj then brought India back on track by dismissing Allen and albeit some late drama involving Odean Smith, the game was safely in the hosts’ pocket.
Prasidh Krishna had an outstanding game and he ended up with a stunning spell of 4/12 in his nine overs including three maidens. He was virtually unplayable on the bouncy track and made use of everything on offer.
Earlier, having been put in to bat first, Rohit and co. lost three wickets early. Rishabh Pant was given the responsibility of opening and he got off to a start before being dismissed.
Rohit and Virat Kohli didn’t last long either. The returning KL Rahul and Suryakumar Yadav rebuilt the innings with a 91-run stand. The former fell one short of his fifty but Suryakumar carried and scored 64 before being dismissed. Eventually, lower-order cameos ensured India reached 237 in the 50-over limit.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to India’s victory in game two:
Even without a big total on the board, Rohit stayed calm. Brilliant game sense. Knew which bowler to use and when. 10 on 10 @ImRo45 #IndvWI
— Vikrant Gupta (@vikrantgupta73) February 9, 2022
Anxious moments when Smith used bat like a lumberjack, but ultimately India clinch match & series with convincing win. Bowlers handled superbly by Rohit. Prasidha was the pick. Windies bowled well, but die was cast when top order flopped. Tail wagged, however left too much to do
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 9, 2022
Full marks to Rohit Sharma for the way he led in the second ODI, he had a moderate total to play with. Liked the way he attacked consistently and did not relent with the pressure #cricket #IndvWI
— Chandresh Narayanan (@chand2579) February 9, 2022
In the end, margin of win is big but after first innings it didn’t look that result will be as easy. Well played India and congratulations to Rohit for a winning start! #CricketTwitter
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) February 9, 2022
It might not be your day, but still it's vital to not lose hope and still find a way. That's exactly what team India did today. They found a way to win even on an off day. Well played and congratulations @BCCI ???? #INDvWI pic.twitter.com/RyScNPKN0o
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) February 9, 2022
If defending low totals is an art
Then this man is piccaso of it @ImRo45 ? pic.twitter.com/yj7m5tSB2V— HITMAN FANS KARNATAKA (@HITMAN_FANS_KAR) February 9, 2022
india Won the Series !! ???
First Series on This Year under ROHIT Sharma captaincy Well-done Guysss !! ???#BCCI #WIvIND #IndianCricketTeam #RohithSharma #RohitSharma #Captian #ViratKholi #BoysInBlue pic.twitter.com/DfSEJkujJr— Sourav Ghosh (@imSouravG12) February 9, 2022
India Defend A Total Below 240 Score After 9 Years Under @ImRo45 Captaincy ??#RohitSharma pic.twitter.com/Ntcm55uL4I
— Manideep (@MANIRCRO) February 9, 2022
Well bowled Prasidh Krishna. If he can do this with the white ball, he will be a red ball asset with opportunities. Series win for @ImRo45 and #RahulDravid hope the @RishabhPant17 experiment continues.
— Boria Majumdar (@BoriaMajumdar) February 9, 2022
In the end, margin of win is big but after first innings it didn’t look that result will be as easy. Well played India and congratulations to Rohit for a winning start! #CricketTwitter
— R P Singh रुद्र प्रताप सिंह (@rpsingh) February 9, 2022
#prasidhkrishna What a day for young man! Super spell which made the win so easy. #CricketTwitter #WIvsIND pic.twitter.com/T8G6GNIOhz
— parthiv patel (@parthiv9) February 9, 2022
Rohit Sharma showing MSD kind of judgment in going for (or not) DRS!
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) February 9, 2022