The 2nd ODI of the ongoing three-match series between hosts India and the West Indies has witnessed the inclusion of Sanju Samson and allrounder Axar Patel as skipper Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli have been rested for the contest.
The inclusion of Sanju Samson has brought delight to his fans who were waiting in anticipation for the player to don the India jersey on the field. Rohit’s absence from India’s playing XI has led to star allrounder Hardik Pandya taking charge of the captaincy in the second ODI at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.
The Windies skipper Shai Hope was lucky with the toss and opted to field first. The hosts have made two changes to their playing XI with Rovman Powell and Dominic Drakes missing out while the right-handed batter Keacy Carty and right-arm pacer Alzarri Joseph coming into the playing XI.
There is all to play for as far as the 2nd ODI is concerned. For team India it is an opportunity to win the series and take an unassailable lead, the Windies will look to land an equalizer and make sure the 3rd ODI in Trinidad holds some significance.
Stand-in skipper for India in the 2nd ODI, Hardik mentioned at the toss that the unit is looking for the answers to a few questions and hence the team management decided to rest the two senior players. He mentioned that the wicket in the first ODI was a bit up and down and also pointed out that their catching in the opening encounter of the ODI series was spot on.
Coming back to India’s playing XI for the contest, Sanju’s inclusion has again become a huge talking point after he missed out in the first game. Interestingly in the first ODI, India’s middle order batter Suryakumar Yadav donned Sanju’s jersey as a jersey of an ideal size was not made available to him. Reacting to an on-field picture of Suryakumar while he was occupying the crease, former India player Subramaniam tweeted “Looks like the only way Sanju Samson can find a place in the XI.”
However, the 2nd ODI has brought immense happiness to Sanju fans and they made sure to express their ecstasy on Twitter.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Sanju’s inclusion in the XI:
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