WI vs IND: India wins series opener by 3 runs against West Indies

• India wins by 3 runs in 1st ODI against West Indies.
• Dhawan’s 97-run knock was the winning factor.
• The hosts also displayed good bowling.

India wins the series opener as it thrashes the honest by 3 runs in the 1st ODI of a three-match series at Queen’s Park Oval in Trinidad.

Shikhar Dhawan’s 97 provided the foundation for his team’s total of 308 for seven, which appeared to be more than sufficient at the midway point given that the hosts had just suffered a 3-0 loss to Bangladesh in Guyana a week earlier.

However, with a top score of 75, opener Kyle Mayers set the tone for the Caribbean side’s chase, and the remainder of the batting order made significant contributions as the West Indies approached the last over needing 15 runs to win.

Romario Shepherd, who played since former skipper Jason Holder was ruled out with Covid 19 in the morning, and Akeel Hosein managed to scrabble 11 runs off the bowling of seamer Mohammed Siraj as they fell agonisingly short at 305 for six.

Dhawan’s 99-ball innings with three sixes and ten fours earned him the “Man of the Match” title, despite the fact that the left-handed opener was disappointed with his team’s fielding performance.

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“We had a few nerves obviously towards the end of the match and maybe we didn’t stick to our plans as well as we should have because if we had done so, especially with a few runs given away on the leg-side, the game would have been over as a contest earlier,” Dhawan said after the match.

Initiated on a steamy morning, he witnessed his opening partner Shubman Gill (64) play the majority of the shots in the first 18 overs of their stand of 119. Shreyas Iyer scored 54 runs before being dismissed by Gudakesh Motie for the second wicket.

Motie had already removed Dhawan via an outstanding diving catch by Shamarh Brooks at a backward point, as India lost momentum when threateningly placed at 213-1 in the 34th over.

Motie and fellow left-arm spinner Hosein were the most economical bowlers for the West Indies, while pacer Alzarri Joseph added two crucial wickets to the home side’s defence.

“It’s a bittersweet feeling,” was West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran’s summary of the match. “We’ve been talking about batting 50 overs and we did it this time but came up short.

“Still, we really competed well against one of the best teams in the world and we need to keep on improving against this type of opposition if we want to get our ODI cricket back on track.”

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