IND vs WI, 1st ODI, Ahmedabad: The result was as expected at Narendra Modi Stadium but the margin was much greater. India bullies their past the West Indies by 6 wickets.
Winning the toss and rightly inviting the visitors to bat first, Rohit Sharma announced( as Virat Kohli steps down as Captain). The bowling unit is completely different from the South African ODI’s as the stars are rested.
The return of Washington Sundar was fruitful for the Indian team giving a solid spell in the opening overs. But the star of the show was definitely Yuzvendra Chahal who picked up 4 wickets and also reached 100 ODI wickets (Currently standing at 103).
As soon as he was handed the ball, Chahal picked two wickets in two balls in his very first over. Trapping Pooran in front and then a dream googly to Pollard(0). In his next, over he got Sharmarh Brooks but had to wait till the last wicket for his fourth.
The only batter to hold the West Indies was Jason Holder(57), whose fifty placed a respected and most importantly a defendable total of 176. The support came from Fabian Allen(29) until Sunder ended their fighting partnership.
Almost every batter got the start but couldn’t find the way ahead. Brandon King(13), Darren Bravo(18), Nicholas Pooran(18), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Alzarri Joseph(13) were all in double figures but failed to reach the 20 run mark.
Defending such a total is always difficult against India in India. West Indies were sharp at the start but when lost their patience when the opening wicket wasn’t falling.
The skipper led from the front hitting a fifty in a comeback match after injury. Ishan Kishan(28) too added a valuable 28 runs from 36 balls.
The momentum shifted and the visitors were able to get back into the game quite sharply. After getting Rohit Sharma(60) in the 14th over, they got a bonus wicket of Virat Kohli(8) in an unorthodox manner. Kohli gave catch to the only man in the deep.
Rishabh Pant threw his wicket in a silly runout thus increasing further damage to India’s chase. Alzarri Joseph was bowling an amazing spell showing his capacity to strike on even the old ball.
The next two batters guided India fearlessly to a confident and easy victory. They ensured no further damage and showed the experience of playing first-class cricket for a very long time.
Both Suryakumar Yadav(34*) and Deepak Hooda(26*) entered the international realm after playing a ton of first-class cricket. It is pleasing watching them play but also scary thinking about the players like them still performing for their national side.
