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After dominating the Test series, India have started the three-match ODI Series in style. They defeated the host, West Indies, by a comfortable five wickets to start the ODI series. Now, India need only one victory from the remaining two games to win the series, while the West Indies must win the remaining to secure the trophy.
Toss: Rohit Sharma, the captain of India, won the toss and decided to bowl first.
The Caribbeans had a poor start
Winning the toss, the home side started their batting innings with Brandon King and Shai Hope. Unfortunately, the two openers failed to bring a good start for the West Indies. They both were very defensive between the wickets and didn’t approach aggressively. But their defense didn’t protect them longer.
West Indies lost their first wicket in just seven runs. Pace all-rounder Hardik Pandya picked up Kyle Mayers in the 2.4 over. After that, Brandon King tried to handle the situation with Alick Athanaze. But their partnership added only 38 runs on the scoreboard. King departed the crease after scoring 17, while Alick Athanaze added 22 runs before losing the wicket.
Shai Hope tried hard
When West Indies continuously lost wickets, Shai Hope tried his best to handle the disaster. He fought very hard to make the scoreboard big, but the other batters failed to contribute. Eventually, Shai Hope lost his wicket to Kuldeep Yadav in the 22.3 over after scoring the highest 43 runs for the Caribbeans.
Spinners destroyed the Caribbeans
Indian spinners had a fantastic spell today against the home side. The pitch was in favor of the spinners as they got enough turns from the wicket. As a result, Indian spinners destroyed the West Indies’ batting lineup. Kuldeep Yadav picked up four wickets, while Rabindra Jadeja got three. Therefore, West Indies lost all their wickets in just 114 runs.
India comfortably chased the target
Since the target was small, Rohit Sharma allowed the lower-order batsmen to bat in the upper order. Instead of him, the captain sent Ishan Kishan to start the innings with Shubman Gill.
As the crease was not much friendly to bat, India also lost some wickets. But it never created pressure for the visitors. Moreover, Ishan Kishan’s brilliant half-century secured the victory for India within 22.5 overs. Ishan Kishan scored the highest 52 runs for India today to earn a comfortable victory.
Rohit Sharma’s thoughts
Indian captain Rohit Sharma explained why he sent Ishan Kishan to start the innings. He said, “I never thought the pitch would play like that, it was the team’s need to bowl first and have a score. The pitch had everything for the seamers and spinners, our guys did well to restrict them to that score. We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this.”
