India returned to winning ways in the 1,000th one-day international match, against the West Indies at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad on Sunday, recording an impressive 6-wicket victory to take 1-0 lead in the ongoing three-match series. The second match of the series will be played at the same venue on February 9.
It was India all the way on Sunday after they won the toss and elected to field, with West Indies crumbling against top-class spin bowling by Indian spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar, who shared 7 wickets between them to set up a comfortable win. Chahal returned with 4/49 from his 9.1 overs whereas Sundar was measly as well as commanding in his spell, returning with 9-1-30-3.
The West Indies were bowled out for a paltry total of 176 in 43.5 overs despite Jason Holder once again producing a lone fightback for his side. The lanky all-rounder, who was unceremoniously removed as the West Indies captain not long ago, scored 57 from 71 balls with the help of 4 sixes and added 78 vital runs in the company of all-rounder Fabian Allen to revive West Indies from a precarious position of 79/7 inside the first 24 overs.
The West Indies batsmen were guilty of not applying themselves enough on a pitch which had variable pace and bounce for fast bowlers, as well as turn and grip for the spinners. Shai Hope was the first to fall, chopping one on to his wickets off Mohammad Shami whereas Brandon King, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks and the explosive Nicolas Pooran all fell after making starts.
Sundar was certainly the pick among the bowlers for India as he kept it tight as well as made crucial breakthroughs in the West Indies top order to leave them reeling. Sundar had King caught by a diving Suryakumar Yadav at short midwicket for 13 whereas Bravo was trapped leg-before, with the Indian spinner squaring up the talented and experienced Caribbean batsmen.
Chahal ripped apart the West Indies lower middle order which included the first-ball dismissal of captain Kieron Pollard along with the wickets of Puran and Brooks. The Indian fast bowlers were not too far behind, with Prasidh Krishna once again proving why he is rated so highly by this Indian management. The tall right-arm fast bowler produced an impressive spell of 10-0-29-2, accounting for the likes of Holder and Akeal Hosein to get in the wickets column
The West Indies were able to reach a score of 176 thanks to a brilliant 78 run stand for the eighth wicket between Holder and Fabian Alan. Allen made 29 from 43 balls with 2 boundaries and provided Holder with splendid support, who batted as now as at No 7 despite being one of the West Indies’ best for a while now.
India had earlier added explosive wicketkeeper-batsman Ishan Kishan and Tamil Nadu finisher Shahrukh Khan to their side. But Baroda all-rounder Deepak Hooda was handed his ODI debut and the right-handed batsman did not disappoint, finishing the game in the company of middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav after India suffered a minor blip in their chase.
India's regular captain in limited-overs cricket Rohit Sharma made a successful comeback to the side as he ripped into the West Indies bowling once again. Rohit cracked 10 boundaries and a six to make 60 from 51 balls but his innings was cut short abruptly by the talented West Indies fast bowler Alzarri Joseph, who got one delivery to move into the batsman, trapping him in front of the wickets.
The Caribbean side showed impressive planning and execution to counter the threat of former India captain Virat Kohli, who was peppered with short balls during his brief stay at the crease. Kohli managed to hit two boundaries in the four balls that he faced but failed to keep one in control when Joseph targeted a short ball on his leg stump. Kohli went for the hook shot but was caught at deep fine leg or eight, soon after Rohit was removed from the equation.
But before India lost two quick wickets in their moderate cheese, it was Rohit all the way who led India's chase with perfection. Playing after a long gap owing to a hamstring injury which saw him miss series at home against New Zealand and away bilateral affair against South Africa, Rohit showcased his absolute best in all directions of the ground.
Rohit and opening batsman Kishan added 84 runs from 13.1 overs to set India on track for a big and comfortable victory. Kishan did well to hit two boundaries and a six to make 28 from 36 balls but lack of contributions from No 3 and 4, Kohli and Rishabh Pant, who was a victim of an unfortunate dismissal, applied pressure on the young Indian batsmen Suryakumar and Hooda.
Joseph got his boot on the ball which had come off the bat of Suryakumar and crashed into the wickets at non-strikers’ end, with Pant backing up far too much than he should have. From 84/0, India had skidded to 115/4 but Suryakumar Yadav and Hooda did well to not allow the West Indies any further inroads and finished the game for their side.
Suryakumar remained unbeaten on 34 from 36 balls with the help of 5 boundaries whereas Hooda made 26 not out from 32 balls with a couple of boundaries to garner experience in his first game in the 50-over format.
Devarchit Varma is a cricket writer and journalist with an experience of more than a decade, having worked at Hindustan Times (newspaper) and CricketCountry (website). Along with covering international and domestic cricket, he has also interviewed several current and former top players such as Rohit Sharma, Steve Smith, Dale Steyn, Michael Hussey, Jacques Kallis, Brendon McCullum, Shane Watson, Lasith Malinga and many more. He has also worked in other beats as a journalist in Bollywood (Reliance BigOye) and IT (SiliconIndia) industries.
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