Asked to chase an improbable target of 311 in just 43 overs, Windies team devoid of experience and intent to chase the target, had a poor start and lost the wicket of Kieran Powell in the very first over with the team yet to open its account. To add to it, another wicket followed soon in Bhuvneshwar’s next over when Windies was yet to score even one run with the bat. The two wickets were enough for India to get control over the game.
Shai Hope and Evin Lewis then entertained for a while, helping their side to some sort of respectability. Out of these two, Hope was the only hope for Windies who could have taken his team to close to India’s total. Lewis, on the other hand, looked a totally different batsman what we saw in the T20I against India where he scored a century at Florida. They were getting runs but the asking rate was out of their control.
Soon, Indan skipper introduced Kuldeep Yadav. He was hit for 23 runs in his first three overs and was welcomed with a six when he came out to bowl the fourth one but on the last delivery of the same over, Kuldeep enticed batsman to go for a big shot and Lewis just can’t stop himself, running down the crease to be left stunned and get stumped. Kuldeep also snared Shai Hope but it didn’t have an impact on Windies as they were neither carried away from regular fall of wickets nor by the skyrocketing asking rate.
India too opted for a counter strategy and skipper Virat Kohli decided to use his bowlers who don’t get regular chances. Hardik Pandya was given a longer rope, so as to bowl as much as he can. Ignoring Yuvraj Singh for bowling duties was the talk of the town during Champions Trophy but in this game, even Yuvraj came and bowled five overs.
Even the main bowler like Ravichandran Ashwin was making most of the opportunity and he was experimenting each and every card from his pack. From carrom ball to leg-spinner to his off-spin, Ashwin was using his overs like he does in a net session.
The result was already on the cards by the way Windies started the innings and in the end, India won the game by 105 runs, their biggest margin of win over the hosts in their own territory.
In the end, it was a good day of cricket where fans at least witnessed an almost full day of cricket, where only 14 overs were cut down in total. At one stage, it looked like the game might be abandoned without even a bowl being bowled but what we saw on the field was a treat and the best team won the game.
Ajinkya Rahane was bestowed with the Man of the Match award for his innings of 103 off 104. He was well supported by his opening partner Shikhar Dhawan (63) and skipper Virat Kohli (87), who helped Indian team to get to a colossal total of 310 in 43 overs.
Brief Scores: India 310/5 (Ajinkya Rahane 103, Virat Kohli 87; Alzarri Joseph 2-73) defeat West Indies 205/6 (Shai Hope 81, Roston Chase 33; Kuldeep Yadav 3-50) at Port of Spain.