WI vs IND 2023: West Indies vs India, 1st ODI - Talking Points and Who Said What?
West Indies were bundled out for 114 courtesy of Kuldeep Yadav's brilliant four-for.
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The One-Day International (ODI) action returned to the Kensington Oval as India took on the hosts West Indies in first of the three-match ODI series. The Rohit Sharma-led side won the toss and elected to field first on a rank turner in Barbados.
The decision worked wonders for India as Rohit's deputy Hardik Pandya sent Kyle Mayers packing in the third over. After Mayers' dismissal, things only worsened for the Windies as Indian bowlers took the juice out of the hosts' batting unit, bundling them out for a subpar total of 114 in 23 overs.
Chasing a paltry total, skipper Sharma decided to experiment with the batting order. The move didn't work out as Shubman Gill, Suryakumar Yadav, Shardul Thakur and Pandya failed to make any impact. The visiting side lost five wickets to chase the total but, at 7, Rohit Sharma ensured that he saw the team through.
Talking Points from the 1st ODI between West Indies and India:
Kuldeep Yadav's brilliance
After pacers and Ravindra Jadeja did a decent job to get rid of the Windies' top order, Kuldeep was introduced in the 19th over. The spinner did not waste time and struck on his third ball to dismiss Dominic Drakes. The Kanpur-born didn't stop there, as he went on to pick a further three wickets and ended with figures of 3-2-6-4. He was also awarded Player of the Match for this outstanding performance.
Ishan Kishan's hasty fifty
As keeper-batter was promoted to open the innings alongside Shubman Gill, he took the full advantage of the given opportunity. Kishan scored his fourth half-century in ODIs and ensured that his innings took India closer to victory. Kishan made 52 off 46 balls and was dismissed by Gudakesh Motie when his team needed just 21 runs to emerge victorious. His knock was crucial as India had lost half their side in an experimental attempt.
West Indies’ skipper Shai Hope said:
"Let's just say we didn't play the way we needed to. On a challenging pitch, we need to find ways to score. I'm not making excuses but anyone watching cricket can see what's happening here. But we have to find ways to score. [Seales] He is a quality player. Worth investing in. Going from strength to strength. We knew an early start here would be difficult and the Indian bowlers did well on this surface, but again we didn't bat very well."
India skipper Rohit Sharma said:
"To be honest, I never thought the pitch was going to play like that. It was the team's need that we wanted to have a score in front of us but never thought the pitch would deteriorate like that. It had something for everyone. But never thought we'd restrict them to that low a score. [On the batting order] We said that we wanted to give a chance to the guys. Never thought we'd lose five wickets but it was a good chance to give a chance to a lot of the guys who have just come in. I thought restricting them to 115 got us in a commanding position that we needed so we thought we could give those guys a chance who haven't played a lot in the last few weeks. [On if he remembers the last time he came out at No. 7] It was my debut actually! Mukesh has been brilliant. Even in Tests we saw he can swing the new ball, has a bit of pace and quite consistent as well. So we want to see what he has to offer. Haven't seen him much so it was good to see what he can do with a white ball. The take away from this game was the bowling effort. Even with conditions favouring you you have to bowl well. And Kishan did well with the bat."
Player of the Match Kuldeep Yadav said:
"[On India's bowling performance] Perfect. Started off with the fast bowlers. Mukesh, making his debut. Shardul and Hardik got wickets too. Me and Jadeja, we were great. Just following the routine and rhythm and it's been amazing in the last one year. Focusing on the length is more important than getting wickets. People say it's a seaming paradis and I was happy that [spinners] got seven wickets from our side and some from their side as well. It was spinning a bit and there was bounce as well. It's always good to have competition, but me and Chahal don't think about the competition and just work with each other. When you have seniors like Chahal to help you it gives you a lot of confidence. We have been playing together for five or six years so he has really helped. There's no competition, we just give each other great company."
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