Ahmedabad:
Shreyas Iyer and Rishabh Pant shouldered the trembling batting order of India as they garnered 80 and 56 respectively in the third ODI against West Indies in Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad.
The duo of Iyer and Pant raised the hopes for the hosts after the top-order stumbled for a low score. Hayden Walsh did the tedious task of removing the pair.
India lost three wickets in the first power play as Shikhar Dhawan was sent back by Odean Smith in the ninth over for just 10 runs.
Earlier, Alzarri Joseph had dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli both in the third over. Kohli once again missed the opportunity to present his form as he was shown the way to the dressing room within a few minutes, just two deliveries after skipper Rohit Sharma.
Sharma scored 13 runs in 15 balls before Joseph strangled him in his spell, dispatching him cheaply and getting a breakthrough for the visitors.
Shreyas Iyer and wicketkeeper-batter Rishabh Pant are on the crease to shoulder the responsibilities of garnering runs for the team.
India white-ball skipper Rohit Sharma had opted to bat first in the showpiece game against West Indies as the hosts have already sealed the series by winning two matches out of three.
“We are going to bat first, it’s something we always wanted to do. Not too much thought about this, it’s always nice to post runs on the board. And give the bowlers a chance to do what they did in the last game,” said Rohit Sharma after winning the toss.
“You just have to do what you want to achieve as a team. We have solid confidence in our bowling unit, so let’s give it a crack,” he added.
Talking about the changes in the team, Rohit informed that KL Rahul will miss the game. “We have three changes, we want to try out things. KL misses out, Hooda misses out and Chahal is out. We have Kuldeep, Shreyas and Dhawan in,” said India skipper.
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