Out-of-favour India batter Hanuma Vihari has pointed out issues with the senior men’s team’s bowling attack after the side lost to the West Indies in the third ODI despite scoring 351 in the first innings. Having already sealed the series by winning the first two games, the Indian team put up yet another brilliant batting show, powered by KL Rahul ‘s heroic 129 not out off just 87 deliveries. The match took place in Mullanpur, where Shubman Gill won the toss and opted to bat first.
the bowlers failed to do the job as the West Indies reached the target in 48.2 overs While there were high expectations of India defending the total. “We could not defend 350. This has happened on very rare occasions when the Indian team has failed to defend 350. They conceded 405 in the previous match as well,” Hanuma said in a video on his YouTube channel, as quoted by Sportskeeda. Naman bowled decently but with such a fifth-bowling option, while defending 350, you need a better alternative.
This is where they are really missing Hardik and Bumrah,” he said. Is this not a wake-up call? I think the team is going backwards. This is a big blow. This bowling attack certainly has to be investigated. Hanuma Vihari added that India missed a proper fifth bowler in the third ODI against the West Indies. “Gurnoor was okay. There are some fitness concerns with him. Nitish was also okay. Siraj was decent, I would not say it was world-class from him. Kuldeep also looked a bit off-colour. That is where the bowling has been exposed.
“The backup bowlers were also off-colour. Kamboj bowled at a better pace, which was good to see. But there is still a long way to go. I think Prasidh will be a regular from here. They will still try Gurnoor and Kamboj. Siraj is returning to the side. They have tried Auqib and Nitish as well. They are trying to find a solution.
It is not a great stage to be in just one year before the World Cup,” Vihari added.
