India took on West Indies in the second one-day international of their three-match series on Wednesday at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati, with captain Shubman Gill winning the toss and opting to field first.
Shubman Gill called correctly at the coin toss and India opted to bowl against the West Indies in their second one-day cricket international on Wednesday. India entered the match already ahead in the series after winning the opener by eight wickets on Sunday.
Auqib Nabi Gets His Long-Awaited Cap
The biggest team news of the day came before a ball was bowled. Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi was handed his ODI debut in place of all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy, giving India a more specialist bowling option after Reddy managed only five overs in the series opener.
Nabi is a 29-year-old right-arm medium bowler who represents Jammu & Kashmir in domestic cricket and plays in the Indian Premier League for Delhi Capitals. His maiden India cap was presented by vice-captain KL Rahul before the toss, and with it Nabi became only the third cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to represent India at international level, following Parvez Rasool and Umran Malik.
West Indies also refreshed their attack for the contest, bringing in pace bowler Shamar Joseph for Matthew Forde and left-arm wristspinner Vitel Lawes in place of Gudakesh Motie, part of four total changes made by captain Shai Hope's side.
West Indies Openers Set the Tone
Sent in to bat, West Indies got off to a flier. Opener John Campbell raced from fifty to a century in just 65 balls, punishing the Indian new-ball attack with a string of boundaries and sixes to put the tourists in control early.
Skipper Shai Hope then took over the innings-building duties, forming a rapid stand with Amir Jangoo that had already produced 97 runs off just 77 balls by the time West Indies reached 244 for 2 after 31 overs. Hope kept accelerating from there, reaching his 20th ODI century off only 90 balls.
A Rare Feat: Three Centuries in One Innings
The innings turned into a batting carnival rarely seen in one-day cricket. Only a handful of men's ODI innings in history — roughly half a dozen in nearly 5,000 matches — had featured three individual centuries before this game, and it was a landmark India had never previously faced from an opponent.
Hope eventually fell for 104 off 94 balls, caught by debutant Nabi off the bowling of Kuldeep Yadav, which brought an end to a 189-run third-wicket partnership with Jangoo, who was left stranded just one run short of a century of his own. With the platform laid, Rovman Powell and Roston Chase kept the scoring rate high in the closing overs, pushing West Indies well past the 350-run mark with a real chance of reaching 400 before the innings closed.
Series Stakes and What Comes Next
The result of this match carries real weight in an ODI rivalry that stretches back decades, with India holding a 73-64 edge in total wins between the two sides. A West Indies victory would keep the three-match series alive, while a big India chase would hand the hosts an unassailable 2-0 lead heading into the finale.
For Auqib Nabi, the numbers may not have gone his way in an innings dominated by the bat, but simply taking the field marked the culmination of a long domestic career that included a stint with the India Test squad in Sri Lanka without a cap. For India, the challenge now shifts to the chase, with Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli and Shubman Gill at the top of the order tasked with matching a daunting West Indies total in front of a home crowd desperate to see the series wrapped up in Guwahati.