Greenfield International Stadium: Virat Kohli smashed an unbeaten 139 while skipper Shubman Gill struck 110 as India crushed the West Indies by eight wickets in the first ODI at the Greenfield International Stadium here on Sunday and take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.After the West Indies made 295/7, with Kuldeep Yadav picking a four-wicket haul, Rohit Sharma and Gill gave India a quick start with a 74-run opening stand. After Rohit fell, Gill and Kohli batted West Indies out of the game with a 151-run stand.
Gill walked off to a standing ovation after his 108-ball 110, which had 13 fours and a six. Kohli, who became only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 ODI runs during the innings, shifted gears once the result was beyond doubt.
He struck 139 not out off 88 balls – his 55th ODI ton and 10th hundred against West Indies, laced with ten fours and nine sixes. It’s the most number of sixes Kohli has hit in his ODI career, as India reached home with 50 balls to spare.
Rohit got India’s chase underway by driving the first ball from Jayden Seales for four. Though the West Indies kept things tight early on, Rohit lofted Jayden Seales over mid-off for another boundary in the third over. Two overs later, Gill had a reprieve on 11 when he sliced a drive straight to cover-point, who spilled a simple chance.
Seales then had a big lbw appeal against Rohit turned down, and West Indies lost a review when ball-tracking showed the delivery going over leg stump. To rub salt on the wound, Rohit slashed the next ball from Seales over sweeper cover for six, before pulling Matthew Forde high over deep midwicket for six.
Gill, who had another narrow escape when he nearly chopped Seales onto his stumps, broke free in the eighth over by cutting and slapping Alzarri Joseph for three fours, the last of them being a classy drive going through extra cover.
Gill kept up the attacking mode by stepping out to lift Gudakesh Motie over cover for six and then cut a short, wide ball for four. Rohit pulled Joseph over deep midwicket for his third six in the final over of the powerplay, as India closed the ten-over phase at 70/0.
Joseph gave West Indies the breakthrough they needed, and he did it through a bit of planning. Rohit Sharma had already inside-edged one big swing onto his pad in the 12th over, so Joseph moved deep square leg a little straighter. On the last ball of the over, Rohit went to whip a full delivery away, but he got it off the bottom of the bat and picked out the fielder to perfection for 32, also the fourth time Joseph dismissed him in ODIs.
Virat Kohli got going through a top-edged pull over the keeper’s head for six and pulled Joseph for four. With dew already setting in and the ground staff using ropes to clear the outfield, Gill completed his fifty off 49 balls and whipped and pulled Roston Chase for boundaries.
With Justin Greaves not on the field due to shin cramps sustained while making 101, Shai Hope had only five frontline bowlers to call on. Kohli kept the scoreboard moving by cutting Gudakesh Motie behind square and flicking Matthew Forde through the gap between mid-wicket and mid-on. Gill, despite battling cramps, showed no sign of slowing down with two pulls and a glance.
Kohli brought up his fifty in just 40 balls by lofting Joseph through the line to get a six down the ground. The crowd rose to applaud him, and Kohli broke into a broad smile as he celebrated the landmark. Gill pulled and cut Roston Chase for two fours in the 28th over. Kohli then took three boundaries in a row off Joseph in the next over – pulling twice and then gloving a short ball past a diving Shai Hope.
The second of those pulls made him only the second batter after Sachin Tendulkar to reach 15,000 ODI runs and the fastest men’s batter to reach the landmark. Gill brought up his hundred with a crisp drive past mid-on off Jayden Seales at the start of the 31st over.
Kohli pulled a short ball from Chase for six, while Gill stepped out to loft the off-spinner back over his head for four. Kohli’s pulled six off Chase in the 34th over brought up the 150-run partnership, but Gill fell three balls later – slog-sweeping straight to deep midwicket. Ruturaj Gaikwad played a supporting role while Kohli went up another gear.
He lofted a Joseph slower ball over long-on to move into the 90s, and danced down to loft Motie over long-on for six to reach his 55th ODI hundred, off 74 balls – also his third-fastest ODI century. It was one of six ODI centuries scored across the world on the day, the first time that has happened.
Brief Scores: West Indies 295/7 in 50 overs (Justin Greaves 101, John Campbell 62; Kuldeep Yadav 4-40, Prasidh Krishna 2-60) lost to India 300/2 in 41.4 overs (Virat Kohli 139 not out, Shubman Gill 110; Roston Chase 1-64, Alzarri Joseph 1-81) by eight wickets
Article Source: IANS
