India win first ODI against West Indies

On the back of a quick 60 from captain Rohit Sharma and an unbeaten stand of 62 for fifth wicket between Suryakumar Yadav and Deepak Hooda, India scripted a six-wicket win over West Indies in the series opener at Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. India’s 1000th ODI appearance went through a scare when they went from 84/0 to 116/4 in 17. 3 overs. But Yadav and Hooda ensured there were no more hiccups for India, who achieved the target with 22 overs to spare.
Chasing a lowly 177, India made a solid start, scoring 67 in the powerplay. Rohit and Ishan Kishan smashed boundaries at will. Rohit took a special liking to Kemar Roach, smashing the pacer for boundaries through mid-on and mid-off in the eighth over. The right-hander followed it up with fours through pull over square leg and a deliberate late cut through third man and a cracking six pulled over square leg. It was Alzarri Joseph who broke the 84-run opening stand.
Virat Kohli fetched boundaries on his first two balls but mistimed a pull off Joseph and the top-edge flew to fine-leg to become the second big scalp of the right-arm pacer. Rishabh Pant got going with two boundaries while Ishan continued to hold the fort. But Ishan, in an effort to unsettle Hosein, went for a big slog-sweep and instead picked out the fielder at backward square-leg. In the very next over, Pant was run-out at the non-striker’s end a straight drive from Suryakumar was met by Joseph sticking his right foot out on follow-through. The bowlers played a big role in the victory. Offie Washington Sundar and Yuzvendra Chahal grabbed seven wickets between them and made good use of a helpful pitch and an opposition that was unwilling to graft and played with hard hands. Both bowled with skill and control though. Chahal’s dismissal of Pollard with a googly and getting Shamarh Brooks caught behind with a delivery that drifted in, dipped and spun, showed his class.