On Friday, the first ODI series between India and West Indies was held at Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad. India’s impressive performance led the team to victory by three runs and they are leading the ODI series 1-0.
India’s squad
Indian captain Shikhar Dhawan and Shubman Gill were two key players and openers who contributed to a shared 119 runs for India. Dhawan scored 97 off 99 balls and Gill managed to get 64 off 53 balls. Dhawan’s 97 off 99 balls also included 10 boundaries and three sixes.
Gill, one of the most entertaining batters, made his ODI debut in December 2020. When he was faced with the fast bowlers, Gill could play comfortably and even showed his attractive play. Gill wowed the crowd when he hooked West Indies’ Alzarri Joseph for a six and added another punch off the back foot for a boundary.
On the other hand, Dhawan managed to cope with Gill’s performance and ended up as a great partner for Gill, even though he only played one format and had a lean run in England. Dhawan scored 10 fours and three sixes. The duo, along with Gill, provided a launchpad for over 350 people.
However, there was a moment when Gill underestimated West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran’s speed and eventually ran himself out. This caused the scoring to slow down for some time until Dhawan and Shreyas Iyer took the game over, which led their team past 200.
Moreover, Shardul Thakur also helped the team to go back into the game where he struck twice earlier as he removed Shamarh Brooks and Kyle Mayers. Yuzvendra Chahal also strengthened the team where he came up with a timely breakthrough to give enough struggle for the West Indies. Deepak Hooda and Axar Patel also took their side past 300 with a 42-run stand for the sixth wicket.
West Indies’ performance
Despite the loss, the West Indies were trying their best to put India’s team on pause from scoring. Mayers was one of the highly rated players who gave a few strokes in his innings, which included a one-leg pull shot off India’s Mohammed Siraj.
Mayers also partnered up with Brooks to produce a 117-run stand for the second wicket. Their collaboration gave the West Indies the ideal launch. The team’s captain and skipper, Pooran, also came in and punished Prasidh Krishna with two flat sixes over deep square leg and deep midwicket.
Romario Shepherd contributed with 38 off 25 balls, followed by Akeal Hosein’s 32. When the West Indies needed 90 runs off the last 10 overs, Brandon Kings scored his third ODI fifty, which got the team’s hopes up.
Despite the performance that was given by the West Indies squad, it was not enough to hold India to snatch their first victory of the series. The team still has two of the three ODIs left in the series, and the second ODI will be held on Sunday at the same venue.
The West Indies are expected to have a better strategy with the next game coming because the Indian team is aiming to fix their middle order, which will boost their performance.
