After electing to bowl, Riding on a clinical bowling display by Yuzvendra Chahal, Windies line-up crumbled for a below-par 176 in 43.5 overs. With that some fine hitting by Rohit Sharma at the top, India defeated West Indies by six wickets in the first ODI in Ahmedabad.
Rohit completed his 44th ODI fifty and added 84 runs for the opening wicket with Ishan Kishan. The Indian captain got out on 60(51) and soon after his dismissal Virat Kohli too returned to the pavilion on 8 Runs.
Ishan scored 28(36) and Rishabh Pant was the final batter to be dismissed on 11(9). Suryakumar Yadav 34(36) and debutant Deepak Hooda 26(32) wrapped up the proceedings, completing the 177-run chase in just 28 overs.
After being invited to bat first, Windies got off to a slow start with Mohammed Siraj removing Shai Hope early. Washington Sundar then joined the proceedings and picked two wickets.
West Indies kept losing wickets in the middle overs and were reeling at 79/7 at one stage.
However, smart batting by Jason Holder and Fabien Allen helped Windies reach a respectable total.
Holder was dismissed on 57(71). Meanwhile, Sundar scalped three and among the pacers Prasidh Krishna picked two wickets.
Here are the Highlights of 1st ODI between India and West Indies,
After electing to bowl, the spinners spun a web as the Windies batting line up crumbled for a below par 176 in 43.5 overs. With the bowlers having done their job, skipper Rohit was in sublime form as the India chased down the total with 22 overs to spare in their 1000th ODI.
Rohit, who hasn’t had any game time in the past couple of months due to injury, led from the front as he scored his 44th ODI half-century off 42 deliveries. The skipper stitched on a 84 run opening partnership with Ishan Kishan (28 off 36).
Kishan, who made it to the playing XI after Shikhar Dhawan was ruled out after testing positive for covid-19, made the most of the opportunity.
The youngster played a patient knock, playing second fiddle to skipper Rohit who found the boundaries. India were cruising at 84 for no loss before Alzarri Joseph handed Windies the breakthrough in the 14th over, removing Rohit (60 off 51).
Former skipper Virat Kohli (8 off 4), who got off the mark whacking back-to-back boundaries, endured an off day as Joseph picked up the second wicket of the over – the captain and the former captain.
Though India’s middle-order woes once again troubled the hosts with India losing four quick wickets, Suryakumar Yadav (34 off 36) and debutant Deepak Hooda (26 off 32) put up a 62-run partnership to steady the ship and guide India home to a comfortable win.
Earlier, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar thrived on the Motera track as the duo shared seven wickets between them. Playing in their 1000th ODI, the Indian bowlers spun a web as the Windies folded for just 176.
Barring a 78-run partnership between Jason Holder and Fabien Allen for the 8th wicket, the Windies batsmen crumbled against a superb bowling display from the hosts.
After electing to field, Mohammed Siraj set the tone of the match as he pocketed the first Windies wicket, removing WI opener Shai Hope for just 8 off 10. While Prasidh Krishna pocketed the crucial wicket of Holder along with Akeal Hosein.
Chahal paved the way with a four wicket haul as Sundar piled the pressure with three crucial scalps.
Holder’s half-century was the only relief for the Windies line-up. En route to his crucial knock of 57 off 71, Holder reached a personal milestone as he crossed 2000 ODI runs. India will take on West Indies next on February 9th in the 2nd ODI.
Brief Score: West Indies: 176 in 43.5 overs (Jason Holder 57, Yuzvendra Chahal 4/49, Washington Sundar 3/30, Prasidh Krishna 2/29). India: 178 for 4 in 28 overs (Rohit Sharma 60; Alzarri Joseph 2/45).
What captains Says :
Pollard, WI captain:
“Losing with 22 overs to spare is a heavy defeat. Same old for us – not being able to bat 50 overs. Have to take stock of that.
We’ve got to dig deep, get better in terms of technique, myself included. Credit to the guys turning up. Has been difficult the last couple of days. Getting four wickets there shows if we put some runs we can compete.
Toss is a crucial factor. It’s wet out there right now. Tonight it just slid onto the bat. That’s the nature of cricket, we can’t change that.
You can say that (Holder should bat higher?). 12 months ago guys would not be saying that. He can bat in any position in the order. Yes he can bat at six. He has a role to play for us. He came in a crucial scenario and made a crucial fifty.
See if we can work on some technical flaws in the next couple of days and see what happens.” Pollard said
Rohit, India captain:
“I don’t believe in perfect game. You cannot be perfect. We want to keep getting better. All in all a great effort from everyone. We ticked all boxes. Pretty happy with that.
With that bat we could’ve finished with not so many wickets, that is one. Could also have created pressure on their lower order. Don’t want to take any credit away. The way we bowled upfront and then towards the back end was good to see. We want to keep getting better as a team.
The end goal is we should be able to achieve what the team wants. If the team requires us to do something different, have to do it. Don’t think we have to change a lot. All I ask from players is to keep challenging themselves. I’ve been off for a while, haven’t played for two months but I was back home hitting the balls. Knew there was a long season ahead. Had a good net session here. I was confident going into this game. Can take a lot of positives from this game. The pitch had something in it.
There was softness in the pitch early on. In this particular game the toss became important. But honestly want to take the toss away from the play, don’t want to depend on it a lot. But if you do, you have to take advantage.” he said