MATCH REPORT
Follow UsIndia hurt West Indies where it hurts them the most. The spinners, Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal derailed the visitors sharing seven wickets between them. Later, it was Rohit Sharma's turn with a sizzling 60 that laid the platform for an easy six-wicket victory over West Indies in the first ODI which also happens to be country's 1000th.
The hosts bundled out West Indies for a meager 176 in 43.5 overs. Chahal (4/49 in 9.5 overs) and Washington (3/30 in 9 overs) ran through their listless line-up. Both the spinners struck twice in an over. Sundar, in the 12th over, dismissed Brandon King and Darren Bravo. When Nicholas Pooran and Shamarh Brooks seemed well on the recovery path, Chahal dismissed the former and Kieron Pollard on consecutive deliveries. He also picked his 100th ODI wicket in the process.
King had seen off the new ball while Pooran and Brooks had added 26 runs for the fourth wicket. The collapse left West Indies reeling at 71/5 in the blink of an eye. Since 2020, West Indies now average only 24.8 runs per wicket against spin, the lowest among all Test playing nations.
Earlier, Mohammad Siraj bowled Shai Hope through the gate, ticking off the box demanding wickets with the new ball.
71/5 soon became 79/7 as Chahal extended his wicket tally to three and Prasidh Krishna picked Akeal Hosein as his first wicket.
West Indies have never been dismissed for less than 100 against India. Jason Holder and Fabian Allen ensured it remains the same. They added 78 runs for the eighth wicket, taking the game deep. While Holder struck four sixes, Allen hit two boundaries, before Sundar lobbed a return catch off his bowling to send Allen back.
The team eventually was bundled out in 43.5 overs with Chahal removing last man Alzarri Joseph, to take his fourth. It is the 10th time in the last 16 games that West Indies have failed to bat full 50 overs despite the presence of senior players like Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard, Jason Holder, Shai Hope, Nicholas Pooran to name a few. Pollard has been quite vocal about the need for the batter's to raise their game. Walking in himself at 71/4, he attempted a timid cover drive on his first ball, allowing Chahal to bowl him through the gate with a googly. The dismissal stood for the lack of confidence in defence for the Windies' batters.
177 was not supposed to test the Indian batting. Rohit's sumptuous 60 made it even easier. He smashed 10 fours and a six, adding 84 with stand-in opener Ishan Kishan (28). While Rohit was in his element, young Kishan played the second fiddle. The former toyed with the West Indies attack, as the hosts were on course for a comfortable chase with the team fifty coming up in the ninth over. He was brutal on the veteran Kemar Roach, hitting him for two fours and a maximum his trademark pull shot, as India fetched 15 runs off the 10th over and raced to 67/0.
It was Alzarri Joseph, who has been West Indies' best bowler over the last two years, to draw the curtains to Rohit's delightful innings. He caught Rohit's feet in the crease with a sharp nip-backer that trapped him LBW. Virat Kohli (8) fell in the same over. He started with two boundaries but was holed out in the deep playing the pull shot. The former Indian skipper has now been dismissed 10 times while playing a pull/hook in ODIs since 2019, the most for any batter.
Kishan and Rishabh Pant added 22 for the third wicket. When it seemed the young duo will see the team home, Kishan failed to clear the fine-leg boundary, handing catching practice to Allen. In the next over, Pant was run-out at the non-striker's end while backing up too far. Suddenly, India had lost four wickets for 32 runs. However, with only 63 runs left to score, India were still on top of the game.
Eventually, Suryakumar Yadav (34 not out) and debutant Deepak Hooda (26 not out) added 62 runs without much pressure to take the team over the line.