Watch: Yuzvendra Chahal gets bullied by skipper Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli's reaction breaks the internet
On Saturday, Team India unexpectedly lost to a team that was eliminated from the Men's ODI World Cup competition. West Indies easily chased down the mark with 92 balls remaining and six wickets in hand after managing only a pitiful 181, with Ishan Kishan being the only contribution and scoring his second consecutive fifty in the series. With the victory, the series was even, making Tuesday's game in Barbados—the third and last one of the series—a title match.
Both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma took a break from the second ODI. They both gave up their starting batting positions in the lineup for the first ODI on Thursday, but a collapse allowed Rohit to fill in at No. 7 and complete the chase. The two senior hitters were benched on Saturday once more to create room for the backup alternatives for the World Cup as Hardik Pandya assumed captaincy duties and Sanju Samson and Axar Patel were replaced.
When West Indies were more than halfway to the meagre target of 182 set by India during the second ODI, a humorous incident involving Kohli, Rohit, and Yuzvendra Chahal in the Indian dugout was captured on camera.
When it was observed that someone was striking Chahal while Kohli was attempting to speak with the same being, the trio—along with Jaydev Unadkat—were seen sitting in the dugout. The individual in question was later identified by camera as India captain Rohit, who was hitting Chahal in jest while Kohli and Unadkat roared with delight. The analyst described the situation as follows: "Someone is tormenting Yuzvendra Chahal, I assume, and the offender has been identified—it's Rohit Sharma.”
Given that it will be India's last opportunity to play an ODI match before the Asia Cup, it is still unknown whether Kohli and Rohit will return for the third and final ODI. Rahul Dravid, the head coach of India, also made a suggestion that his team will continue to experiment in the decisive game and that they were more concerned with the big picture than the current series.
“I believe we will constantly consider the big picture. To be really honest with you, given the upcoming World Cup and Asia Cup as well as the injuries we now have, we must consider the larger picture at this point in the cycle. We must consider such things. We shouldn't worry about each individual game or series. I believe that would be a mistake if we did that, he had stated.