India put out a clinical performance in the first ODI of this three-match series against West Indies and recorded their first international win of 2022.
The bowlers stood tall and the spin duo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar led the charge as they bowled West Indies out for a mere 176. Jason Holder was the only batter that got a half-century and Fabien Allen was the only other player to go past the 20-run mark. In reply, Rohit Sharma blazed away to 60 before Suryakumar Yadav and debutant Deepak Hooda wrapped up the run-chase to help India go 1-0 up in this series.
Here are the talking points from the game.
Mohammed Siraj bowls an excellent opening spell
Over the last couple of years, India have struggled to get early breakthroughs in ODI cricket but Mohammed Siraj ensuredthe hosts had the upperhand early as the Hyderabad-born fast bowler bowled an excellent spell with the new ball.
Siraj started with a maiden before he was hit for a couple of boundaries on the first two deliveries of his second over. But he bounced back in style to knock over Shai Hope, setting up the batter really well. The two boundaries that Hope struck were outswingers before Siraj dished out a scrambled seam ball which nipped back in to knock over Hope’s stumps. Siraj continued to build pressure from his end and returned with figures of 5-2-13-1 in the powerplay.
Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal spin a web around the West Indies batters
Right from the first over that Washington Sundar bowled, there was turn. The Tamil Nadu off-spinning all-rounder came into the attack in the eighth over and started troubling the left-handed Darren Bravo. In his third over, Sundar struck twice in the space of four balls.
It was the right-handed Brandon King who was dismissed first as he got a leading edge while trying to turn one on the on-side. Sundar then trapped Bravo LBW to reduce West Indies to 45/3. It was a Yuzvendra Chahal show from then on, as the spinner wreaked havoc. The Haryana leg-spinner had Nicholas Pooran LBW before he knocked over Kieron Pollard for a first-ball duck. In his second over, he also accounted for Shamarh Brooks.
Chahal and Sundar picked up one wicket each later on in the innings to finish with seven wickets between them. Sundar had figures of 9-1-30-3 while Chahal bowled 9.5 overs for 4/49.
Jason Holder, Fabien Allen get West Indies to a respectable total
The West Indies top-order crumbled and were reeling at 79/7. That’s when Jason Holder and Fabien Allen got together and rebuilt. Holder went out on the attack and kept hitting sixes and rotated the strike really well too. He had able support in Allen who ticked over the strike and found the odd boundary. The duo shared a solid 78-run stand which pushed West Indies’ score over 150.
Holder also recorded a half-century. He put pressure on the Indian bowlers and just when he started to look even more dangerous, the Indian bowlers wrapped up the innings and even he was dismissed on 57 (knock that included four sixes).
Rohit Sharma leads from the front with a 51-ball 60
Rohit Sharma led the charge with the bat and gave India a solid start at the top of the order. The new ODI skipper struck a fluent 60 which came off 51 balls (10 fours and a six) and set the platform for the hosts. He struck boundaries consistently and did the bulk of the scoring in the powerplay and in the opening stand alongside Ishan Kishan. Rohit was looking set for a big one but it was Alzarri Joseph who trapped him LBW for 60.
Suryakumar Yadav, Deepak Hooda take India home
After a solid 84-run opening stand, India lost a few wickets in a hurry. From 84/0, they were reduced to 116/4. Alzarri Joseph picked up two wickets in the same over as he dismissed Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli in the space of four deliveries. Akeal Hosein then got rid of Ishan Kishan before Rishabh Pant was runout off a deflection from Joseph’s hand at the non-striker’s end.
With 61 runs required, the task wasn’t too steep but Suryakumar Yadav was playing his fourth ODI and Deepak Hooda was on debut. The duo, however, batted really well to take India home. Yadav was his own self, piercing gaps and playing innovative shots as he kept finding the boundaries. Hooda batted maturely as well and rotated strike nicely. The pair shared an unbeaten 62-run stand for the fifth wicket. Yadav got 34 while Hooda scored 26.
Also Read: What is the Lowest Score Defended in IPL History?
