Too comfortable for team India as they thrash West Indies in the first ODI

On paper, India was way ahead of the West Indians and nothing really changed in reality. On Sunday, in India’s 1000th One Day International, the Caribbeans put on another disappointing performance as the Indian bowlers were all over them from the very start. Without the likes of Mohammed Shami and Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj was leading the bowling line-up with Shardul Thakur and Prasidh Krishna by his side. However, it’s the spinners who changed the game and put India in the driver’s seat.

Just before the Indian T20 League auctions, Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar showed what they can do on a cricket pitch. Sundar who made his return after his injury picked 3 in his 9 overs giving away just 30 runs while his partner Chahal picked up 4 giving away 49 runs in his 9.5 overs. Sundar destroyed the top order as he dismissed Brandon King for 13 and Darren Bravo for 18 while Chahal destroyed the middle order by taking wickets of Pooran, Brooks and Pollard. Pollard, who’s the captain of the ship, should have played more maturely as the veteran batsman was dismissed in his first ball after he tried to play an extravagant shot off Chahal's doosra.

Jason Holder saved West Indies as the all-rounder made 57 crucial runs which helped West Indies reach a decent total of 176 runs. However, it was a pretty easy target for the Men in Blue to chase. The newly appointed Captain Rohit Sharma led from the front as the opener scored 60 runs while his ‘new’ partner Ishan Kishan made 28 runs. Virat and Rishabh Pant failed to impress but Suryakumar Yadav and debutant Deepak Hooda took the team home after a solid knock of 34 and 26 runs each. India chased down the target within 28 overs and registered an emphatic win over West Indies.

After a solid win in his first match as Captain, Rohit Sharma said in the post-match presser, “We want to keep getting better as a team. The end goal is we should be able to achieve what the team wants. If the team requires us to do something different, we have to do it. Don’t think we have to change a lot”.

He added, “All I ask from players is to keep challenging themselves and be a little more innovative and try different things, so when the situation arises, the guys are up for it”.

When asked if this was a perfect game for India, the captain said, “I don’t believe in a perfect game. You cannot be perfect. All in all, a great effort from everyone. We ticked all boxes. Pretty happy with that”.