India produced a clinical performance to humble the West Indies by 68 runs in the first T20 International at Brian Lara Stadium, Tarouba, Trinidad on Friday. The second match of the five-match series is scheduled for Monday (August 1) at Warner Park, Basseterre, St Kitts.
Captain Rohit Sharma scored a half-century (64 off 44) and Dinesh Karthik hit an unbeaten 19-ball 41 to help India post 190/6, then the bowlers restricted the hosts to 122/8. Arshdeep Singh (2/24), Ravichandran Ashwin (2/22) and Ravi Bishnoi (2/26) did the damage as none of the Windies' batter crossed 20.
Asked to bat first, India got off to a rousing start with Rohit and promoted Suryakumar Yadav (24 off 10) putting on a 44-run stand in 4.4 overs. But the visitors lost quick wickets. and were tottering at 127/7 with Shreyas Iyer (0 off 4), Rishabh Pant (14 off 12), Hardik Pandya (1 off 3) and Ravindra Jadeja (16 off 13) lasting a combined 32 balls.
Then, India scored 59 runs in the last five overs with Karthik and Ravichandran Ashwin (13 not out off 10) adding 52 runs in 25 balls for the seventh wicket.
Earlier, Nicholas Pooran won the toss and opted to bowl first.
The Windies handed Alzarri Joseph his T20I debut. Here are the playing XIs:
West Indies: Shamarh Brooks, Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Kyle Mayers, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Odean Smith, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Keemo Paul.
India:Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Ravi Bishnoi, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravichandran Ashwin, Arshdeep Singh.
The match marked the return of regular skipper Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant and Hardik Pandya for India, while the Nicholas Pooran-led Windies have been boosted by the arrival of Shimron Hetmyer. India won the preceding three-match ODIs 3-0 with Shikhar Dhawan leading the visitors to their 12th successive series win in the format against the Windies.
Squads
West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein, Keemo Paul, Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Devon Thomas.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan.
West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (c & wk), Rovman Powell, Odean Smith, Jason Holder, Romario Shepherd, Alzarri Joseph, Obed McCoy, Hayden Walsh, Akeal Hosein, Keemo Paul, Shamarh Brooks, Dominic Drakes, Devon Thomas.
India: Rohit Sharma (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Deepak Hooda, Suryakumar Yadav, Hardik Pandya, Dinesh Karthik, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Arshdeep Singh, Ravi Bishnoi, Harshal Patel, Ravichandran Ashwin, Shreyas Iyer, Kuldeep Yadav, Avesh Khan, Ishan Kishan
