India outplayed West Indies to register a thumping 68-run victory in the first T20I.
Asked to bat first, the visitors rode on skipper Rohit Sharma’s 44-ball 64 at the top and designated finisher Dinesh Karthik’s whirlwind 19-ball 41* to pile up 190/6 on the board.
Defending the total, Indian bowlers displayed a collective brilliance to restrict the hosts to a paltry 122/8. While R Ashwin, (2-22), Arshdeep Singh (2-24) and Ravi Bishnoi (2-26) claimed two scalps each, Bhuvneshwar Kumar (1-11) and Ravindra Jadeja (1-26) chipped in with wicket apiece.
Apart from the touring team’s dominance, the match also hogged the headlines for two outrageous strokes produced by Indian batters Suryakumar Yadav and Dinesh Karthik.
The first shot came from Suryakumar, who played a flick through his legs, helping the ball sail over the fine leg boundary. It was then Karthik’s turn to leave the cricket fans in awe as he played a switch hit over short third man.
Here’s the video of two unorthodox shots:
With this victory, the Rohit Sharma-led side took a 1-0 lead in the five-match T20I series. The second T20I is due to be played in St Kitts on Monday (August 1).