West Indies all-rounder Justin Greaves has been ruled out of the second ODI against India after sustaining a calf injury during his century in the series opener in Thiruvananthapuram, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed on Tuesday.
The injury is a blow to the visitors after Greaves played an important role with the bat in the first ODI; he and John Campbell had given West Indies a brilliant start by reaching 135/0 in 19 overs and thus put India under pressure. Campbell scored 62 off 60 balls before India’s bowlers were able to regain control. The Windies batters also made the Indian bowlers toil as John Campbell made 62 from 60 balls while opening the innings and Justin Greaves scored 101 from 108 deliveries. The visitors were firing on all cylinders and were 135/0 after 19 overs before the Men in Blue applied the brakes, with Kuldeep leading the charge with a stellar bowling display.
CWI said in a squad update, “Justin Greaves has been ruled out of the second game of the ODI series against India after sustaining a calf injury. Greaves picked up the injury during his innings in the opening match of the series. It remains to be seen whether the Indian management will make changes to the bowling attack, as Mohammed Siraj and Auqib Nabi were the bowlers to be benched for the previous game. There can be a case for giving game time to Dhruv Jurel, while there can be a temptation to play Yashasvi Jaiswal too, as India look to bag the series.
A special Virat Kohli show led the Indian team to chase down 297 against the Windies in Thiruvananthapuram, while captain Shubman Gill also hit a marvellous ton. Kuldeep Yadav was the star with the ball as he made crucial strikes in his 4-40 spell to play a key role in the win.
