I personally like the West Indian cricket team – they always come across as talented but laid back and likeable. It isn't much fun rubbing their collective noses in the dirt. For me, an Indian win over the West Indies isn't as sweet as, say a victory over Australia. Nevertheless, the clean sweep of the three-match ODI series was satisfying; particularly in light of the recent reports of team unrest and the less-than-great tour of South Africa. Here’s what happened:
This match was significant because it was India's one thousandth ODI, being played in Ahmedabad.
The West Indies batsmen were dismissed in the 44th over, having made just 176 runs, setting India an easy target.
They were interested to see this dynamic – considering that there would now be an ex-captain in the team. Skipper Rohit Sharma led from the front, making the highest score for this team with 60 runs.
India won easily – with six wickets and 22 overs to spare, however it was thanks to our bowlers that the visitors were restricted to such a paltry and gettable total.
Yuzvendra Chahal was named Man of the Match for his spell of 4 wickets where he conceded 49 runs.
What national boundaries divide, the IPL seems to unite! Or maybe this is just because the West Indies players are nice guys.
West Indies opted to bowl first after winning the toss. Rishabh Pant opened, however, he didn’t make much of an impact, contributing only 18 runs to India’s modest total of 237/9.
Virat Kohli continued his quest for a big score and missed it yet again in this, his 100th ODI match.
After Rohit Sharma departed making just 5 runs, India were in a precarious position. It was Yadav’s doughty 64 runs and K L Rahul’s 49 that helped steady the Indian innings
West Indies were all out for 193. Prasidh Krishna was named man of the match for this spell where he took four wickets, conceding just 12 runs. He was later also named man of the series.
Winning the toss, India decided to bat and made 265 runs.
Fans were disappointed, to say the least.
“We are not surprised.”
The third ODI also went India’s way. The West Indies were all out for 169 and India won by 96 runs. It was a 3-0 clean sweep for India.
The first of three T20 matches between India and West Indies starts at Kolkata on Wednesday, 16 February 2022.
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