Ishan Kishan gave a brilliant example of mixing channelled aggression with right intent to hit yet another half-century on the West Indies tour. He hit 77 off 64 balls with the help of three sixes and eight fours to take India on course for a big total in the must-win third ODI against West Indies on Tuesday. The half-century also saw the wicketkeeper-batter enter an elite club which has the likes of MS Dhoni, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammed Azharuddin among other. He is the latest Indian batter to score fifties in all three matches of the bilateral ODI series.
Former spinner Pragyan Ojha feels the current lot of young Indian batters must learn to pace their innings while the team remains on experimentation mode ahead of the ODI World Cup at home. India lost five wickets while successfully chasing a moderate 114 against the West Indies in the first ODI. A below part effort with the bat in the second ODI led to an unexpected loss.
“It is very important to address a few things. The batters who are new should know how to pace their innings — that is the biggest challenge I see now,” Ojha told the media during an interaction organised by Jio Cinema.
“In 2011, India had players who knew exactly how to pace their innings and what their roles were. But because of so many injuries and changes, this is a different challenge which the Indian team is facing right now,” Ojha added.
Ojha, who played 24 Tests, 18 ODIs and six T20Is for India, said the unavailability of some key players like Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul could hamper the team's preparation for the World Cup.
With PTI inputs