During the first innings of the first ODI of the three-game series, Virat Kohli performed a moment of utter brilliance, with his one-handed stunner. Virat Kohli demonstrated exceptional reflexes by making a spectacular one-handed catch. It happened barely a delivery after Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Rovman Powell for four in the 18th over. With the ball twisting and Jadeja challenging the outside edge, India captain Rohit Sharma convinced Kohli to replace Shubman Gill in the slip cordon.
Despite a five-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, India dominated. Except for Shai Hope, none of the West Indies batters put up a fight as the spin duo of Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav, who took seven wickets between them, bowled out the hosts for 114 in just 23 overs. India brought down the mark in one less ball, with Ishan Kishan rising to the occasion with his fourth ODI half-century.
Virat’s One-handed Stunner
Jadeja then delivered a bigger delivery outside off as Windies batter Romario Shepherd advanced to force it through the offside but was met with a heavy outside edge. Kohli then showed quick reflexes by diving to his right and grabbing the ball with one hand only inches above the ground. Shepherd stood there for a while, trying to comprehend what had just occurred as he walked back in disappointment after suffering a two-ball duck to send the home team six down in the 18th over. Meanwhile, Gill was completely taken aback by Kohli’s performance.
Kohli did not bat, though, since he and Rohit chose to give others a chance in India’s 115-run chase. As a result, Ishan started with Gill, followed by Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Jadeja, and Shardul Thakur. But, with the exception of Ishan, none of the others made an impression, forcing Rohit to bat at No.7 for the first time since his India debut.
” We felt we could try these folks and give them a shot if we limited them to 115. I doubt they’ll get many opportunities like this. “I made my debut for India and batted at number 7, which reminded me of those days,” India captain Virat Kohli subsequently explained.
India vs West Indies 1st ODI highlights
India won by five wickets. Kuldeep Yadav (4/6) and Ravindra Jadeja (3/37) shared seven wickets as India bowled West Indies out for 114 in the opening ODI in Barbados. Mukesh Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Shardul Thakur would also take wickets.
Earlier, India skipper Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bat first as the white-ball part of their West Indies trip began.
On the other hand, the West Indies, who failed to qualify for the World Cup, would be aiming to offer a few young players opportunity to rebuild for the next cycle. Without experienced campaigners like Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran, this would be an excellent opportunity for a few young people to prove their mettle.
The WI captain, Shai Hope said, there aren’t many words that come to mind. We didn’t play well enough, and we need to find methods to score on difficult pitches like this one. I’m not making excuses, but everyone who watches cricket can see what’s going on here. He is a talented player in whom we can invest, and I hope he continues to improve. The Indian bowlers performed admirably on this surface, but we struggled to bat.
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