Ind vs WI First ODI: India Defeats Their Hosts by 5 Wickets

Ind vs WI first ODI unexpectedly turned out to be a bowler’s paradise as the pacers and spinners of both teams had a field day in this match. West Indies batted first, and Indian pacers Shardul Thakur and Hardik Pandya wasted no time in taking the attack to their top order. Pandya struck first by sending the talented Kyle Mayers back to the pavilion on just two runs. Debutant Mukesh Kumar also stepped up and dismissed Alick Athanaze just when he was getting set on the pitch. Brandon King could not handle the pressure and soon fell prey to Thakur. Thereon, spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Jadeja ran through the entire batting lineup in no time.

West Indies skipper Shai Hope stood his ground for a while and scored a decent 43 runs but could only manage to push their score to 144 runs in 23 overs. Scoring a meagre target of 115 runs, Indian captain Rohit Sharma decided to let the youngster take charge as he and Virat Kohli went lower down the order. However, except for Ishan Kishan, no batsman could really hold their ground as Shubhman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur got dismissed one after the other on low scores. Kishan managed to reach his fifty but was soon caught by Rovman Powell. Finally, Sharma himself walked out in the middle and finished of Ind vs WI first ODI with Ravindra Jadeja, as India ended at 118 for five wickets.

India will face West Indies in two more ODI matches in this tour before their 5-match T20 series.

Image source: AP