India vs West Indies First ODI: Player Ratings
After the two match Test series debacle, the focus shifted to white ball cricket for both the teams. Amidst good hype for the limited overs, Indian captain Virat Kohli won the toss and decided to field first. The pitch was a belter and the ball was coming on the bat nicely.
Batting first, Windies didn't disappoint one bit, opener Kieran Powell continued his fine form from red ball cricket. He scored a quick fire 39 ball fifty to set the tone for innings. The debutant Chandrapaul Hemraj couldn't make the most. The experienced campaigner Marlon Samuels bagged a duck in his 200th ODI for Windies. It was Shimron Hetmyer who stood tall and scored a dominant century. He played shots all around the ground, put pressure on Indian bowlers and raced away to his 3rd ODI hundred.
Windies did find themselves in trouble at 252/7 after a flourishing start. But it was captain Jason Holder (38), Devendra Bishoo (22*), and Kemar Roach (26*) who helped Windies to post a solid score of 322 on the board.
In reply, Shikhar Dhawan dragged one onto his stumps trying to punch on the backfoot. But then it was all the Virat Kohli-Rohit Sharma show. Both played gorgeous shots, rotated the strike well to put up a 246 run partnership for the second wicket.
Kohli demoralized the opposition oozing all class in his sublime century which is number 36 in the ODIs. On the other hand, Rohit started slow but reached his 20th hundred soon after Kohli. It was a matter of time, India closing the game. Ambati Rayudu joined Rohit to finish the game comprehensively in the end.
Here are the player ratings for the match:
West Indies
1. Kieran Powell (6/10)
He started the match well for the Windies and dominated the power play scoring a good half-century. But failed to make it big on a batting-friendly surface.
2. Chandrapaul Hemraj (2/10)
The debutant looked promising at the start with quality stroke-making ability but dragged one onto his stumps from Shami. He made a mere 9 runs.
3. Shai Hope (5/10)
He is indeed the most talented player in this young Windies set up. He started off cautiously and played some quality strokes on his way to well compiled 32. But threw it away attempting to pull a bouncer from Shami. His inability to convert his innings into big ones is hurting Windies. He also affected a good stumping of Kohli.
4. Marlon Samuels (0/10)
Frankly, he deserved no rating today. Being one of the most experienced guys in this setup and playing his 200th ODI, Samuels never turned up to the occasion. He was out for a duck and was poor in the fielding as well.
5. Rovman Powell ( 3/10)
When Windies lost quick wickets, more was expected from Powell to stitch a partnership along with Shimron Hetmyer. It was all going well but Powell decided to take charge and lost his leg stump in his attempt to slog Jadeja. He made only 22 runs.
6. Shimron Hetmyer (8.5/10)
The young man from Guyana is a very talented player in this team. From the start, he looked to dominate every bowler and never let anybody settle. He played free-flowing strokes all around the park to reach his 3rd ODI hundred. He should have carried on to help Windies post a 350+ total but gave his wicket to accelerate the innings.
7. Jason Holder (7/10)
The captain made a handy contribution with the bat making 38 runs and also was economical of all the bowlers in a run feast. He needed support from another end as well to make an impact with the ball. Sadly it wasn't meant to be today.
8. Ashley Nurse (2/10)
Playing the role of a batting all-rounder in the team, a lot was expected from Nurse. He scored 2 runs with the bat and was too costly with the ball for his team. His economy rate in the match was never below 8.
9. Devendra Bishoo (5/10)
Batted sensibly at the death with his partner Kemar Roach to add 40 more runs to the board. His contribution of 22 helped Windies to cross 300 in the end. A lot could have been done with his bowling but he had no answer like any other bowler for Kohli onslaught. Finally did manage to get Kohli out stumped with a good ball.
10. Kemar Roach (4/10)
Batted well with Bishoo to contribute 26 runs for the 9th wicket. Bowled well in the first powerplay with good control but was not effective because he failed to take wickets.
11. Oshane Thomas (4/10)
He was another young debutant for Windies today. He is very quick in his pace and accounted for Shikhar Dhawan early in the Indian innings. He bowled with good gas upfront but tapered off towards the end. He will definitely learn a lot.