Virat Kohli Stars as India Beat West Indies in ODI Series Opener
India went on to defeat West Indies by 4 wickets at Greenfield International Stadium. West Indies started off by posting 263 runs, as Indian bowlers troubled them to a great extent. Virat Kohli's 78 helped India to chase down the target, despite West Indies making a comeback in the game.
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Pitch and Weather
The match will be played at Greenfield International Stadium, which is expected to offer a slow ODI surface with some assistance for seamers early in the game. The new ball will be able to provide some movement, while the pitch slows down as the game progresses. Spinners will be able to do well in the middle overs, especially against the longer boundaries. Conditions are likely to be warm and humid, around 25–28°C, with partly cloudy skies and light winds. A competitive first innings score at this venue would be around 265 to 275.
Toss
India wins the toss and decides to field first. Shubman Gill backs India's bowling line-up to use the pitch conditions well, and dominate over the West Indies batsmen.
Lineups
India: Rohit Sharma, Shubman Gill (C), Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, KL Rahul, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar
West Indies: Shai Hope (C), Keacy Carty, John Campbell, Justin Greaves, Sherfane Rutherford, Amir Jangoo, Roston Chase, Shamar Joseph, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Matthew Forde
Match Report
India completed a 263-run chase at the Greenfield International Stadium by four wickets, even after West Indies threatened in the middle overs against a competitive total.
West Indies had a careful start against Mohammed Siraj and Krishna, as they reached 45/1 in ten overs. Campbell lost his wicket early against Siraj, but Hope and Carry went on to rebuild the innings as they rotated strike and attacked occasionally. Jadeja came early to reduce the scoring rate, as West Indies were forced to take some risky options.
Hope had scored 62 runs before Kuldeep Yadav removed him with a googly, as Carty lost his wicket at 57 while attempting to sweep against Jadeja. West Indies were down at 173/5, but Rutherford and Chase added 48 runs from 44 balls. India improved its death bowling as Siraj bowled wide yorkers and Krishna used slower deliveries to restrict West Indies at 262/8.
India started the chase positively, as Rohit and Gill added 58 runs before Seales removed Rohit. Gill went on to partner with Kohli, but Alzarri took two wickets, as he removed Gill for 66 and Ruturaj for a low score.
India stood at 139/3, as they needed stability more than acceleration. Kohli and Rahul gave the same, as they rotated against Chase while attacked the seamers when they bowled anything loose. The duo had a 81-run stand which ended when Rahul mistimed a shot against Forde, but India was comfortable in the chase.
The turning point arrived when Kohli attacked Chase for consecutive boundaries in the 39th over, which forced Hope to remove the spinner. Kohli lost his wicket after scoring 78, as India needed 31 runs from 38 balls. Jadeja and Nitish finished calmly in the chase, as India scored 263/6 in 47 overs.
Player of the Match
Virat Kohli won the Player of the Match award for scoring 78 runs in the chase. The chase master once again anchored the team from a challenging situation, and accelerated when it was needed.
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