6 wicket win for India against West Indies

On Sunday, India won the first of their three-match ODI series against the West Indies by six wickets in Ahmedabad. The hosts reached 178 for four in 28 overs while chasing a goal of 177. Rohit Sharma, the captain, top-scored for his team with a 60-run knock off 51 balls. Suryakumar Yadav, meanwhile, hit an unbeaten 34 runs off 36 balls to help India win the match.

After India’s new spin combo of Yuzvendra Chahal and Washington Sundar provided the platform for an easy six-wicket win over West Indies in the opening ODI, which also happened to be the country’s 1000th, skipper Rohit Sharma brought in a sense of calm with a blistering 60.

Some superb hitting from Rohit Sharma at the top. Rohit scored his 44th ODI fifty, as he and Ishan Kishan added 84 runs for the first wicket. The Indian captain was dismissed for 60 (51), and Virat Kohli followed him to the pavilion on 8. Ishan scored 28 runs (36), and Rishabh Pant was the last hitter to be dismissed on 11 runs (9). Suryakumar Yadav’s 34 (36) and debutant Deepak Hooda’s 26 (32) put the finishing touches on the 177-run chase, which was completed in in 28 overs.

Team India wiped out West Indies for 176 runs, with Yuzvendra Chahal returning with four wickets. Windies got off to a sluggish start after being requested to bat first, with Mohammed Siraj dismissing Shai Hope early. After that, Washington Sundar entered the fray and took two wickets. West Indies kept losing wickets in the middle overs, and at one point, they were 79/7. However, the Windies were able to post a respectable total because to the astute batting of Jason Holder and Fabien Allen. Holder was fired after 57 years on the job (71). Sundar took three wickets, while Prasidh Krishna took two wickets among the pacers.

“My thoughts are very straightforward. The series against South Africa is the only series we have lost in the past few years and in New Zealand as well. But our ODI percentage in the last 3-4 years has been 70 plus if I am not wrong, maybe more. If there is a change, we need to do in terms of how we approach the game, we have to do it, as simple as that. It is not like you have to suddenly come and try to copy what other teams are doing,” said Rohit Sharma.

Indie’s captain disappointed:

Losing with 22 overs to spare, a heavy defeat. Not been able to bat 50 overs. Being 77/5, we’ve got to take stock on that. We’ve got to dig deeper, get better with our techniques. We’ve all been guilty of making mistakes. Not the result we wanted. It has been difficult for the last couple of days. Getting four wickets showed if we put up some runs on the board, we can compete. (Toss factor) Very, very crucial. When we batted first, the ball held up a bit and it spun, and in the second innings, it slid on straight into the bat, but that’s the nature of the game. (On Holder batting up the order) When you look at different things, you can say that. 12 months ago, guys wouldn’t be saying that. He can bat at any position. When you watch the makeup of our team, you can see international quality batters batting in those middle order positions. We’re happy for Jason and hopefully long may that continue. (Positives) Lower order batting, Jason scoring that fifty, Fabian Allen showing he can chip in, Joseph, Hosein.

Full Squads

India: Rohit Sharma (captain), Ishan Kishan, Virat Kohli, Suryakumar Yadav, Rishabh Pant(wicket-keeper), Deepak Hooda, Shardul Thakur, Deepak Chahar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Yuzvendra Chahal, Ravi Bishnoi, Mayank Agarwal, KL Rahul, Avesh Khan, Prasidh Krishna and Washington Sundar

West Indies: Shai Hope (wicketkeeper), Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran, Shamarh Brooks, Darren Bravo, Kieron Pollard (captain), Jason Holder, Fabian Allen, Romario Shepherd, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh, Kemar Roach and Nkrumah Bonner 

Also Read: First Indian bowler to pick up 5-wicket haul in U19 World Cup final

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