India won the first ODI in Barbados by 5 wickets to go 1-0 up in the series.
On a slow pitch at Kensington Oval, which did have some spongy bounce, Rohit Sharma won the toss and chose to bowl first. His decision proved to be correct as the West Indies side was bowled out for 114 in 23 overs.
Kuldeep Yadav picked 4/6, while Ravindra Jadeja took three wickets as well.
In response, Ishan Kishan opened the batting with Shubman Gill and while the Punjab batter failed to come good, Kishan hammered a quick fifty. But the West Indies bowlers, especially Gudakesh Motie bowled well and India soon found themselves losing wickets at regular intervals.
But Ravindra Jadeja (16*) and Rohit Sharma (12*) ensured India reached the target in 22.5 overs with 5 wickets in hand.
Speaking after the match, Rohit Sharma said that he didn’t expect Kensington Oval track to deteriorate this quickly and also defended his decision to promote ODI specialists ahead of himself and Virat Kohli.
“I never thought the pitch would play like that, it was the team’s need to bowl first. The pitch had everything for seamers and spinners, our guys did well to restrict them to that score. I made my debut for India and was batting at number 7, reminded me of those days,” Rohit said at the post-match presentation ceremony.
“We wanted to give game time to the ODI guys who have come in, we will keep trying those things whenever possible. To restrict them to 115, we knew we could try these guys and give them a go. I don’t think they’ll get many chances like this,” the India captain added.
He also praised debutant seamer Mukesh Kumar, who made his ODI debut here and picked one wicket.
“Mukesh was brilliant, he can swing the ball at a good pace. Good to see what he can offer, haven’t seen him much in domestic cricket. No matter the conditions, we need to bowl in the right areas to restrict them, and I thought our bowlers did brilliantly. And then Ishan was good with the bat as well,” Rohit said.
West Indies skipper Shai Hope was very critical of a track that resembled rank turner.
“Not too many words come to mind. We didn’t play the way we needed to, we needed to find ways to score on difficult pitches like this. I’m not making excuses, but anyone watching cricket can see what is happening here,” Hope said.
The second ODI will be played at the same venue on July 29, Saturday.