India tame the West Indies as they punch their way to a win by 5 wickets. Batting first, West Indies were reduced to a mere 114 in 23 overs. Much to their dismay, only captain Shai Hope remained consistent with the bat, scoring 43 of 45 balls before falling. Much to the surprise, the top, middle and lower order batsman failed to perform to any standards as the likes of openers Kylel Mayers, Shirmon Hetmayer, and Rovman Powell failed to perform significantly.
Spinner Kuldeep Yadav had the time of his life on the pitch as he bowled some of his best bowling figures – 3 overs, 2 maidens, 6 runs and picking up 4 wickets in the process with an economy rate of 2, something usually not seen in ODI matches.
The Indians led by Rohit Sharma decided to allow their middle order players to bat ahead, giving them time on the pitch to hone their skills at batting. Opener Ishan Kishan was the star of the Indian batting side, scoring 52 runs in 46 balls.
Shubman Gill continued his dismal performance, yet again, scoring in single digits (7 in 16). Hardik Pandya also failed to produce any performance with the bat, scoring 5 runs in 7 balls before being run out by Yannic Cariah at the non-striker’s end.
Captain Rohit Sharma stepped onto the pitch at number 7. Along with Ravindra Jadeja, the match ended in 22.5 overs, with Sharma scoring 12 of 19 and Jadeja 16 of 21 to guide India to an easy victory.
Watch: Kuldeep Yadav’s 4 wicket haul in the 1st ODI. (Fancode/Youtube)
