Shikhar Dhawan’s 97 and fifties from Shubman Gill and Shreyas Iyer set up India’s narrow three-run win in the series opener against West Indies. Chasing 309 for the win.
West Indies pushed India to the brink in a match that ebbed and flowed. First, it was Kyle Mayers and Shamarh Brooks who took India to the cleaners with both the batters slamming fifties. Once this stand was broken, Nicholas Pooran and Brandon King took over and took the game deep only to lose the plot.
In the end, the game came down to 15 off the last six balls where Siraj bowled effectively, winning India the game by the barest of margins, just three runs. It was a close match and India survived a scare. Nonetheless, this win means India takes a 1-0 lead in the 3-match series.
Earlier India was asked to bat first after they lost the toss. But the decision proved exactly right as Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill gave India a rollicking start, especially since Gill was the aggressor. After his departure, Dhawan and Iyer took over and it looked like India will reach 350. But after the second drinks break, India lost a flurry of wickets, with Dhawan, and Iyer both departing in no time. Even Deepak Hooda and Sanju Samson ate up balls. In the end, it was Axar Patel who broke the shackles and India managed to cross the 300 mark, eventually setting up a 309 run target for the Windies.
West Indies skipper Nicholas Pooran won the toss and elected to bowl against India in the series opener at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. India picked Shubman Gill over Ruturaj Gaikwad as Shikhar Dhawan’s opening partner, while Sanju Samson got a nod over Ishan Kishan to keep the gloves. Vice-captain Ravindra Jadeja has been ruled out of the first two ODIs after sustaining a knee injury.
In the absence of several experienced players, Shikhar Dhawan lead a young Indian team in the ODI series against a struggling Windies side who recently lost the three-match series to Bangladesh.
The Men in Blue are high on confidence after an impressive show in white-ball matches against England. However, they will miss the services of Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Rishabh Pant, Hardik Pandya, and Jasprit Bumrah in the ODI series against the Windies.
It will be a good opportunity for young players like Shubman Gill, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Deepak Hooda, and Arshdeep Singh to showcase their talent on the big stage in the absence of star players.
While, on the other side, West Indies was going through a transitional phase after the retirement of Kieron Pollard. It was a big series for Nicholas Pooran and Co. to make a statement in the cricketing world.
IND vs WI 1st ODI Highlights:
Man of the Match: Shikhar Dhawan (97 runs):
– 3: India won by 3 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
– 7: It was West Indies’ 7th consecutive defeat in ODIs.
– 1: Shubman Gill scored his maiden half-century in ODIs in just the 4th match.
– 119: Shubman Gill and Shikhar Dhawan stitched together a 119-run partnership for the opening stand. This is India’s highest in the last 12 months.
– 3: India’s top-3 batters scored half-centuries for the 1st time in 12 months.
– 6: This was India’s 6th consecutive win against West Indies. This is India’s 3rd longest winning streak against West Indies.
– The previous longest winning streak was 9 between 1983 and 1987. India also had a 7-match winning streak against Windies in ODIs between 1988-89.
