Visakhapatnam: After narrowly escaping defeat in the series opener, India would look to guard against complacency and hope for an improved showing from their batsmen when they take on the West Indies in the second cricket one-dayer on Friday.
The opening match of the five-match series in Cuttack two days ago saw an inexperienced Indian bowling restrict the Caribbean side for a paltry 211 for nine.
But chasing the modest total, India`s much-fancied batting line-up faltered and if not for comeback man Rohit Sharma`s 99-ball 72, the home team could have been down 0-1 in the series.
India`s inexperienced pace trio of R Vinay Kumar (1/27), Varun Aaron (2/47) and Umesh Yadav (2/33) not only excelled with the ball in Cuttack but also showed amazing calmness while batting to set up the thrilling one-wicket victory for the hosts.
Needing 11 runs off 23 balls under tense situation, the last wicket pair of Aaron and Yadav kept their calm and saw India home with seven balls to spare.
And the Indian thinktank obviously will not want a repeat of the Cuttack episode, especially on a run-belter at the Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, where the hosts have an all-win record in the three matches they played here.
India`s stand-in captain Virender Sehwag, who is leading the side in place of regular skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, has already cautioned the batsmen after the Cuttack match, saying there should not be any excuse for poor show.
"There is no excuse for anybody not scoring runs," he said about India`s batting collapse in the first ODI. We have to back our batting. We have some exciting youngsters playing for last three four years," Sehwag said.
But Dhoni, who has been rested for the series keeping in mind the upcoming tour of Australia, will be sorely missed by the spectators here.
Hosting a match after more than two years, the venue remains a testimony of Dhoni`s rise to stardom as it is this ground where he scored his maiden ODI century, a blistering 148 off 123 balls against Pakistan in 2005.
But in the absence of senior players like Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar, the cricket-crazy crowd of the port city would be looking towards Sehwag to produce a gem of an innings tomorrow.
Sehwag, who was bowled by an incoming Kemar Roach delivery in Cuttack, would also be keen to improve his batting record as captain. He averages a poor 21.50 with 44 being his best score from eight matches as skipper.
Wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel also would be eyeing to make amends for his poor show in Cuttack and cash in on yet another opportunity with both bat and gloves in place of Dhoni.
Among other Indian top-order batsmen, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, who all disappointed in Cuttack, will be desperate to avoid yet another collapse by returning among runs tomorrow.
Apart from Rohit, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the other Indian batsmen to provide some resistence in the first ODI with a gritty 62-ball 38, and he would be hoping to convert his starts into big scores.
The inexperienced Indian bowlers, on the other hand, impressed all and sundry with their performance in Cuttack.
The three-pronged pace attack of Vinay Kumar, Yadav and Aaron stood up and grabbed their chances with both hands so far in the absence of seniors like Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar, who are out with injuries.
But Dhoni, who has been rested for the series keeping in mind the upcoming tour of Australia, will be sorely missed by the spectators here.
Hosting a match after more than two years, the venue remains a testimony of Dhoni`s rise to stardom as it is this ground where he scored his maiden ODI century, a blistering 148 off 123 balls against Pakistan in 2005.
But in the absence of senior players like Dhoni, Yuvraj Singh and Sachin Tendulkar, the cricket-crazy crowd of the port city would be looking towards Sehwag to produce a gem of an innings tomorrow.
Sehwag, who was bowled by an incoming Kemar Roach delivery in Cuttack, would also be keen to improve his batting record as captain. He averages a poor 21.50 with 44 being his best score from eight matches as skipper.
Wicket-keeper Parthiv Patel also would be eyeing to make amends for his poor show in Cuttack and cash in on yet another opportunity with both bat and gloves in place of Dhoni.
Among other Indian top-order batsmen, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli and Suresh Raina, who all disappointed in Cuttack, will be desperate to avoid yet another collapse by returning among runs tomorrow.
Apart from Rohit, all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja was the other Indian batsmen to provide some resistence in the first ODI with a gritty 62-ball 38, and he would be hoping to convert his starts into big scores.
The inexperienced Indian bowlers, on the other hand, impressed all and sundry with their performance in Cuttack.
The three-pronged pace attack of Vinay Kumar, Yadav and Aaron stood up and grabbed their chances with both hands so far in the absence of seniors like Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar, who are out with injuries.
"We look forward to his knowledge and experience. We will look to use that into effect," Sammy added.
The Kemar Roach-led West Indies bowling attack, however, showed in the last match that they have what it takes to trouble the famed Indian batsmen on their home ground.
In the absence of Ravi Rampaul, who was rested, Roach, who picked up three wickets, and his colleagues dished out lethal performance to make life diffuclt for the Indian batsmen.
But the spin department remains a worry for Sammy and the visitors may just look to strengthen the area by handing out a debut to off-spinner Sunil Narine, who was impressive in this year`s Champions League T20 in India.
Teams:
India: Virender Sehwag (captain), Parthiv Patel (wk), Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Ravindra Jadeja, R Ashwin, R Vinay Kumar, Varun Aaron, Umesh Yadav, Ajinkya Rahane, Manoj Tiwary, Abhimanyu Mithun and Rahul Sharma.
West Indies: Darren Sammy (captain), Lendl Simmons, Adrian Barath, Marlon Samuels, Darren Bravo, Danza Hyatt, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Andre Russell, Kemar Roach, Anthony Martin, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell and Ravi Rampaul.
Field umpires: Tony Hill (NZ), S Ravi; Third: Sudhir Asnani, Fourth: Anil Chowdhury; Match Referee: David Boon (AUS).
Match starts: 2.30pm (IST).
PTI
First Published: Thursday, December 01, 2011, 13:42