West Indies’ struggles in the 50-over format continued as India registered a relatively comfortable victory in the first ODI in Bridgetown, Barbados on Thursday (July 27). Kuldeep Yadav picked up a four-wicket haul while Ravindra Jadeja bagged three as they expedited West Indies’ collapse, with the hosts losing their last seven wickets for the addition of only 26 runs to be bowled out for a paltry 114 in 23 overs.
India experimented with their batting order in the chase, with Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli not coming out to bat in their usual positions, making way for the others up the order. They lost half their side in the process, on a pitch aiding the spinners, but Ishan Kishan’s 46-ball 52 guided India in the chase and they eventually got home with 27.1 overs to spare.
A confident pull shot off Dominic Drakes helped Kishan get off the mark with a boundary in the first over. Shubman Gill’s first runs came off a top edge that got him a four off Jayden Seales. The openers were building a steady partnership when Gill got an outside edge off Seales, with Brandon King taking a low catch at second slip. Third umpire Marais Erasmus referred to multiple angles before ruling the batter out. Suryakumar Yadav came in at No.3 and he glanced Drakes for a four to score his first runs after a hat-trick of ducks in his previous ODI outings. Kishan was quick to read the lengths, striking a straight four off a full delivery from Drakes and also played the pull to put away a short ball.
Suryakumar, who struck a cover drive off Seales for his second four, also played his favourite pick-up lap shot for a six over fine-leg. The pair scored at a steady rate, combining their boundary shots with singles as India reached 50 in 10 overs. Suryakumar played a sweep off Gudakesh Motie for a boundary but the spinner hit back by bowling it a lot slower, getting the batter out leg-before, with India also losing a review. Kishan, meanwhile was playing shots all round, playing a one-handed shot over mid-off and a cut off Yannic Cariah for two boundaries. Hardik Pandya was also pushed up the order but he had a short stay, run out at the non-striker’s end after a shot from Kishan deflected off Cariah’s hands onto the stumps.
Kishan then put away a full toss from Cariah for his first six and struck a powerful shot past Motie for another four. He also got a lucky break as he was dropped by Kyle Mayers off Motie when he tried to pull, and he brought up a 44-ball fifty a short while later. But Kishan fell in his attempt to play a heave off Motie and Shardul Thakur also departed soon after, bringing Rohit to the crease. The captain, along with Jadeja, helped their team across the line without further damage as India took a 1-0 lead in the three match series.
Earlier, with the pitch offering extra bounce, Pandya and debutant Mukesh Kumar troubled the West Indies openers with deliveries that took off from a length after skipper Rohit opted to bowl. Mayers tried to force the pace but the bounce got the better of him as he handed a simple catch to Rohit Sharma at mid-on to give Pandya the first wicket. A steady partnership between Alick Athanaze and Brandon King ensued, with the two batters scoring a few boundaries. Athanaze’s first shot of authority was a pick-up shot for a six off Pandya and he added three more fours to his tally before he hit a short and wide ball from Mukesh to Jadeja, who timed his jump well at backward point. King fell soon after, bowled by Thakur as West Indies slipped to 45/3.
Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer, who returned to the West Indies XI after a lengthy gap, tried to rebuild as they extended their stand past 40. Hope struck a couple of fours off short balls from Umran Malik while Hetmyer pulled a Jadeja delivery to fine leg for his first four. But Jadeja, who was a bit wayward to start off, hit his straps and left West Indies in further trouble. Hetmyer’s innings came to an end when an attempted paddle shot resulted in him being bowled. Jadeja had Gill and Virat Kohli to thank for his next two wickets as they held onto fine catches off edges to first and second slip, resulting in Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd falling in the same over.
West Indies slid further when Kuldeep struck in quick succession. The chinaman bowler trapped Drakes in front with a googly and then got Cariah also with a wrong’un, with India using the DRS successfully. At the other end, Hope watched on helplessly as West Indies lost their direction completely. The West Indies captain tried to farm strike with the tail batting with him, even striking a six off Jadeja to enter the 40s. But an attempted reverse sweep brought about his downfall, giving Kuldeep his third wicket. He picked up his fourth in just three overs when Seales handed a catch to leg slip to become the last to fall, bringing the curtains down on a shoddy batting display from the West Indies who were bowled out for their second lowest total against India. (cricbuzz)
Brief scores: West Indies 114 in 23 overs (Shai Hope 43; Kuldeep Yadav 4-6, Ravindra Jadeja 3-37) lost to India 118/5 in 22.5 overs (Ishan Kishan 52; Gudakesh Motie 2-26) by 5 wickets.