Rohit Sharma takes charge of India for a milestone ODI against West Indies on Sunday, saying the team "have to change" as his tenure as captain begins in earnest.
India have lost their last four ODIs, after slumping to a 3-0 series defeat to South Africa in January, with Rohit forced to miss the games against the Proteas due to a hamstring injury.
The opening batsman was appointed India's ODI skipper in December, taking over from Virat Kohli, but he has yet to feature for his country since then.
Now his chance to stamp a mark on the team has arrived, and Rohit said it would be "the same template" rather than anything radical that he brings to the leadership, but it is clear this is a flexible template.
A three-match ODI series awaits, with matches being played on Sunday, Wednesday and Friday, all at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, ahead of a three-game T20I tussle in Kolkata.
At the age of 34, Rohit is seen as a wise tactician, a safe pair of hands for the coming years, and he has no designs of being a radical skipper.
"We are a good team and have good players. It's just that on certain occasions, there will be situations presented in front of us where we have to change our game a little bit," he said.
"We have to change our game, there is no doubt about that. Adaptability and being open to different things at different points is what we have spoken of."
He explained: "We have played good ODI cricket over the course of a few years – more than a few years, actually.
"Suddenly a loss of a series doesn't mean there's a panic that we need to create. It's just the certain understandings, certain learnings that we need to take into our game.
"The South Africa series was a great learning [experience] for us as to what we didn't do collectively as a team."
India's 1,000th ODI arrives on Sunday. They will become the first men's team to reach that mark and have won 518 matches in the format to date (L431 T9 NR41) – only Australia have won more such games (581).
Rohit will be partnered at the top of the India order by Ishan Kishan, with COVID-19 positive tests sidelining both Shikhar Dhawan and Ruturaj Gaikwad, while Mayank Agarwal, called up to add another option, is in the quarantining stage as he joins the team bubble.
A tangled history
India have won seven of their last eight men's ODIs against West Indies; however, it has been a different story at the venue for this series. In fact, West Indies have won four of the five ODIs they have played against India at the Narendra Modi Stadium.
India's lone win came in November 2002. The latest meeting of the teams at this ground took place in 2011, so although there is a historical record of West Indies dominance, it would be a stretch to point to this as particularly relevant to this series... unless, of course, West Indies rout India, then wise heads can say they saw it coming.
That seems unlikely, though. India have won nine of their last 10 bilateral home men's ODI series (L1), including the last three. Their lone defeat in this period was a 3-2 loss to Australia in March 2019. The last time West Indies triumphed against India, in India, in a bilateral ODI series was a 4-3 success in November 2002.
Can Holder dazzle again for West Indies?
West Indies are fresh from beating England 3-2 at home in a T20I series, so their morale is high. Jason Holder's four wickets in four balls in the final over of the series decider stands him in good stead, and the former captain will have another achievement in his sights.
Holder, who has 141 ODI wickets, needs 46 more runs with the bat to reach 2,000 in ODI cricket. It would make him the fifth man to register 2,000 runs and 100 wickets for West Indies in the format.
Alcaraz's pursuit for third straight Madrid Open crown continues
Carlos Alcaraz boosted his hopes of a third straight Madrid Open title as he comfortably beat Thiago Seyboth Wild to reach the fourth round on Sunday.
Back in his home country of Spain, Alcaraz eased to a 6-3 6-3 triumph to set up a fourth-round clash with Jan-Lennard Struff, whom he beat in last year's final.
The first six games of the opening set went to serve, but Alcaraz found a crucial break in the seventh and ninth games of the set to put him in pole position for victory, a lead he would not relinquish as he overcame being broken in the seventh game of the second set to seal his safe progression.
Holger Rune was a surprise casualty as the world number 12 was defeated 6-4 4-6 6-3 by Tallon Griekspoor, though world number eight Andrey Rublev eased through with a straight-sets win over Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
Data Debrief
With his triumph over Seyboth Wild at the Madrid Open, Alcaraz has now won 93.3 per cent of his games at the tournament. That is the highest win percentage of any player with at least 10 games played in a single ATP-1000 event since the format was introduced in 1990.
Against Seyboth Wild, Alcaraz won 27 of his 31 first-serve points, also recording 19 winners to his opponent's 10 as he dominated the contest on his way to victory.
IPL: Gaikwad inspires CSK to emphatic victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad
Ruturaj Gaikwad inspired Chennai Super Kings to a 78-run victory over Sunrisers Hyderabad in the Indian Premier League.
CSK lost by six wickets to Lucknow Super Giants in their last outing, but they bounced back in emphatic fashion on Sunday.
Captain Gaikwad was in rampant form, plundering 98 runs from 54 balls, a knock that included 10 fours and three sixes, while Daryl Mitchell added a useful 52.
Tushar Deshpande subsequently picked up the mantle with the ball, taking 4-27, including dismissing Hyderabad's top three - Travis Head, Abhishek Sharma and Anmolpreet Singh.
Aiden Markram offered some resistance with a 26-ball 32, but once skipper Pat Cummins also fell to Deshpande, the game was all but up.
Jaydev Unadkat was the final one to tumble, as Hyderabad were bowled out for 134 and saw CSK move above them into third in the standings.
Data Debrief: Gaikwad on Kohli's heels
With 447 runs across nine innings, Gaikwad is now second on the list of leading run scorers in the IPL this season, behind only the great Virat Kohli (500).
Gaikward, though, has the better strike-rate at 149.49, while he is averaging 63.86.
Hayley Matthews leads from the front as West Indies Women take 2-0 lead over Pakistan Women with seven-wicket victory at Karachi
In yet another stunning performance, West Indies Women’s captain Hayley Matthews led her team to a commanding seven-wicket victory over Pakistan Women, securing a 2-0 lead in their five-match T20 series in Karachi on Sunday.
Matthews showcased her all-round prowess by first starring with the ball, taking an impressive 3 wickets for just 25 runs to restrict Pakistan Women to 121-7 in their allotted 20 overs. Despite a resilient 55 from Muneeba Ali, the hosts struggled against the visitors’ bowling attack, with Matthews leading the charge. She received support from Chinelle Henry, Karishma Ramharack, and Afy Fletcher, each claiming a wicket to stifle Pakistan’s batting efforts. Matthews also contributed to a crucial run-out that ended Pakistan’s innings.
With a manageable target of 122 for victory, Matthews continued her dominance, opening the batting for West Indies Women. She began her innings aggressively, smashing 10 boundaries on her way to a match-high 58 runs off just 43 balls. Her attacking display laid a solid foundation for the run chase.
Supported by contributions from Shemaine Campbelle (21) and Chedean Nation (unbeaten 17), Matthews guided her team to victory in emphatic fashion, sealing the win with 10 balls to spare.
Matthews’ outstanding performance with both bat and ball underscores her invaluable role as a leader and key player for the West Indies Women’s team. Her contributions have been instrumental in securing consecutive victories against Pakistan Women, setting a strong foundation for the remainder of the series.
The West Indies Women will look to build on this momentum as they aim to maintain their winning streak and clinch the series against Pakistan Women in the upcoming matches.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
