Key points from the first ODI between India and West Indies
First ODI between India and West Indies turned out to be a monotonous affair at the end of the day as most of us expected but the crowd was entertained by some scintillating shots from Kohli and Rohit. Maybe at the end of the West Indies innings, it seemed as if they could give India a fight, but it was too weak a thought given India's top order and good batting conditions.
West Indies bowling looked far too fragile and despite an early wicket and promising start from debutant Oshane Thomas, the Rohit-Kohli duo was too hot to handle for the inexperienced Windies bowling. India chased the target with utmost ease with 47 almost eight overs to spare and both of them scored magnificent tons.
It was after West Indies were put into bat by the Indian captain. West Indies didn't have the greatest of starts with debutant Hemraj falling in just the fifth over. West Indies then took the as usual attacking option with Shimron Hetmyer taking the charge. With century from Hetmyer and handy contribution from Powell, Holder and down the order from Nurse and Bishoo, they managed to set a decent target of 323 for the hosts to chase.
Here are a few noticeable points from the first ODI.
Team Selection
Kohli and undebatable team selection can never go hand in hand. ODI in Guwahati was no exception. While almost everyone conceived a choice between Mohammed Shami and Khaleel Ahmed, Kohli chose to drop Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep who has been the mainstay of this Indian bowling lineup was left out against the weak and inexperienced West Indies batting lineup which he could have easily exploited. Preference of Jadeja was more of a conservative move to strengthen the batting in the absence of Pandya and also given India's fragile middle-order.