Team India registered a crushing win over West Indies in the first ODI of the three-match series on Thursday, beating the hosts by five wickets in Barbados. The Indian bowlers bundled West Indies for merely 114, with left-arm spinner Kuldeep Yadav registering incredible figures of 4/6 in just three overs. Ravindra Jadeja also took three wickets in six overs; it was an Indian ODI record at the end of the innings as both left-arm spinners picked seven wickets in total.
It was an utterly uninspiring performance from the hosts with only Shai Hope putting some fight against the Indian attack, scoring 43 off 45 balls. The side faced a middle-order collapse with Alick Athaneze (22), Shimron Hetmyer (11), Rovman Powell (4), and Romario Shepherd (0) departing one after the other, failing to revive the Windies innings. While Jadeja and Kuldeep did rule the roost, India star Virat Kohli also had a noteworthy moment on the field when took a stunner to dismiss Shepherd, off Jadeja's delivery.
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Merely two balls into the over, Jadeja had dismissed Powell with Shubman picking his catch. The wicket brought Shepherd at the crease and the extra bounce was clearly making it difficult for the batters to settle. Seeing their struggles, Virat Kohli moved into second slip and the move paid off only in the fourth ball of the over, as Shepherd found a thick outside-edge. Kohli picked a one-handed stunner to dismiss the batter.
{{/usCountry}}Merely two balls into the over, Jadeja had dismissed Powell with Shubman picking his catch. The wicket brought Shepherd at the crease and the extra bounce was clearly making it difficult for the batters to settle. Seeing their struggles, Virat Kohli moved into second slip and the move paid off only in the fourth ball of the over, as Shepherd found a thick outside-edge. Kohli picked a one-handed stunner to dismiss the batter.
{{/usCountry}}It was the sixth wicket in Windies innings and Jadeja's third of the innings. The Indian all-rounder is usually known for his brilliant fielding and during a chat following the 1st ODI, Kuldeep Yadav pointed out that it was the other way round in this game, with Jadeja benefitting from a great catch himself. Jadeja passed a chuckle and agreed with his spin twin.
“The ball was spinning off the wicket. Usually, it's the other way round. I take the catches when others bowl, now, someone took such a great catch off mine! It was a great catch, low and sharp. He (Virat Kohli) didn't get much time, so it was great. Even Shubman (Gill) took a good catch,” Jadeja said.
“On such wickets, if fielders do well, your confidence also gets boosted,” Jadeja further added.
India chased down the target in 22.5 overs with Ishan Kishan scoring a half-century (52). Jadeja was unbeaten at 16 in the run-chase, as the team management opted to save star batting duo Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli for the chase. Rohit, eventually, had to take the crease after the fall of fifth wicket, and remained unbeaten on 12. read