The West Indies men’s cricket team fell to India by eight wickets in the first of three One Day Internationals. The fixture, played on Sunday at the Greenfield International Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram, saw three centuries scored across the two innings on a good batting surface.
Having lost the toss, the Men in Maroon started brilliantly. The opening pair of Justin Greaves and John Campbell put on 135 runs. Campbell scored 62 before falling to Kuldeep Yadav. Greaves continued his fine all-format form with both bat and ball with a well-played century.
Once Greaves fell, a mini-collapse ensued, largely driven by Yadav, who finished with figures of 4 for 40. The Windies lost four wickets for 22 runs and found themselves in need of a rebuilding effort. Amir Jangoo and Roston Chase added 52 runs together, with Jangoo making a well-played 58 off 43 deliveries. The West Indians posted a total of 295 for 7 after 50 overs.
India’s innings was simply a tale of a dropped catch and two centuries. Substitute fielder Keemo Paul dropped Shubman Gill early in his innings, a significant missed opportunity, as Gill went on to score 110.
This century was bettered only by the veteran Virat Kohli who extended his century record to 55, surpassing 15,000 ODI runs. “The King of the Chase” smashed an unbeaten 139 off just 88 deliveries to guide his team to victory.
In a post-match interview, West Indian captain Shai Hope said he believed his team was “maybe 60-80 runs short”.
“We laid a very good foundation, got stuck in the middle, just something to look forward to. We also had a few chances, that whatever runs we got, we could defend it,” he said.
The two teams meet again on Wednesday, September 30, beginning at 4:30 a.m. East Caribbean time.
