Hope guides WI to victory after India skittled for 181

West Indies sprung a major surprise in the second ODI in Barbados, beating India for the first time in ten attempts to level the three-match series at 1-1. The Men in Blue were skittled for just 181 in the first innings as Romario Shepherd and Gudakesh Motie combined to take six wickets and were well backed up by a fantastic fielding display before a half-century from Shai Hope guided the hosts home in 36.4 overs.

In the absence of rested senior statesmen Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, the young Indian batters struggled to make an impact on a tricky pitch at the Kensington Oval. Openers Shubman Gill and Ishan Kishan gave the visitors a strong start, adding 90 for the first wicket, but it was all downhill thereafter.

Ishan Kishan got to his second half-century of the series, but couldn’t convert it into a big score, while Gill failed to clear long-on as he looked to take on the spinner, holing out to Alzarri Joseph. The Indians lost their top five for just 23 runs following Gill’s dismissal, with Alick Athanaze taking a sensational catch at point to remove Ishan Kishan for a run-a-ball 55. Promoted to number four, Axar Patel lasted eight deliveries and edged behind to Romario Shepherd before Hardik Pandya picked out Brandon King to fall cheaply.

Sanju Samson departed one ball later, leaving India reeling at 113 for 5 just as the rain arrived to halt proceedings. The visitors would have hoped that the last recognised pair of Suryakumar Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja would steady the ship after the play resumed, but neither batter managed to arrest the slide, departing in successive overs.

Jadeja fell to a short one from Romario Shepherd, while SKY suffered another failure in ODIs and was dismissed by the left-arm spinner Motie. Shardul Thakur offered brief resistance to take India past 150, but the West Indies wrapped up the final three wickets in quick succession to bowl the visitors out for just 181.

The West Indies openers raced out of the blocks in the chase, looking to stamp their authority against the new ball. Kyle Mayers sparkled early on, carving a pair of glorious no-look sixes to set the tone, but Shardul Thakur struck thrice with his spell to give India some hope. However, despite also losing Shimron Hetmyer for 9, the Men in Maroon managed to canter home on the back of a captain’s innings from Shai Hope. The skipper scored a patient 63* off 80 and added 91 runs alongside Keacy Carty to force a decider in the third ODI in Trinidad.